Pull Through
by thelastcall
Summary: The Titans have broken up and gone their own ways... and so have Raven and Beast Boy. But when Raven gets a message that Beast Boy has been injured durring a battle and put into a coma, she rushes to the Doom Patrol headquarters to see what she can do to help. Will Raven be able to team up with the Doom Patrol to save her ex-boyfriend/teammate or will they all fall apart first?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is based off of the pre-reboot comic as well as the show, so some of the info isn't exactly cannon with the show. Also, it's set when Beast Boy and Raven are in their early 20s. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think!

* * *

The dark haired woman sat in what she assumed was an antique chair. Even though the plush cushion under her was soft and she could lean her head against the delicately carved wooden backrest… she couldn't get comfortable. Under other circumstances, she would have found the furnishings of Dayton manner to be interesting and even beautiful… but seeing lovely artisan furniture mixed in with top of the art medical equipment was just unsettling on some level. It was never a good experience when one of the Titans had to go to the med wing, but at least the modern look of the Tower seemed to coincide with that sort of room. And the medical wing on the Watchtower made even more sense and felt even more official. She sighed and took a sip of her coffee.

It had been about a year since she had left the Titans to join Cyborg at the Justice League. Originally she was surprised they'd even asked her, especially since she'd always been under the impression that Batman disapproved of her even being on the Titans because of the nature of her powers, but the Bat had even conducted her interview himself, complimenting her research and critical thinking skills. She found out later, that the League had been impressed at how she had stepped up and took more responsibilities as the other older Titans began to start solo careers or return to their previous teams. It was true that Raven had never taken up the leader role of the titans, but she instead acted as a sort of advisor, often controlling the actions of the team from the background and always making herself available during times of crisis. At the Justice League, she was back to being a foot soldier again, being outranked by countless other heroes… not that she minded. It was nice to have a little less responsibility and to have a huge team of people helping you. It was also sort of nice to have the privacy that such a large team granted. It wasn't so much like a family, the way the Teen Titans had been. It was more of a professional atmosphere. She still enjoyed spending her free afternoons and meal times with Cyborg, but it was nice to be able to retreat to her room to meditate without having to worry about someone pounding on her door and begging her to go to the mall or the movies. She barely even left the Watchtower, aside from missions… She barely spoke to anyone aside from when she was filing reports or going to tactical meetings… She couldn't even remember the last time she'd called anyone from the old team on the phone…

She reached her hand from where it had been laying in her lap to the bed beside her and without looking fumbled for the green hand that she knew to be there. When she found it, she entwined their fingers and held tightly. How familiar and how strange, to hold the hand she'd held so many times after many months of not even speaking. How troubling to feel the warmth of it but not have it squeeze back. She took several deep breaths and downed the rest of her coffee, discarding the porcelain cup on the ivory topped side table. She couldn't bring herself to look at his face, but she managed the courage to glance at their intertwined hands… but upon seeing the IV running into his arm from the corner of her eye, she quickly looked away and stared down at her knees once more.

She didn't hear anyone approaching, but she sensed his presence outside of the door for a few minutes before he cleared his throat to speak. "Robotman made breakfast."

Raven had met the Doom Patrol on multiple occasions before this one. They were Gar's family, and since the Titans were a family, they had become like strange distant relatives to her in a way. She knew they'd have her back if something went wrong and she wouldn't hesitate if they needed her help… but it's not like she spent weekends at Dayton manor, helping Mento flip burgers at the family barbeques. They were the kind of relatives who never called you on the phone, but still sent you a Christmas card.

She didn't want to offend Negative Man, but she really didn't feel in the mood to go sit at the table between him and Robotman for the most awkward breakfast of her life. "I'm fine, thanks though," Raven said, without looking up.

"He's making pancakes," the Doom Patroller added, as if that was some sort of incentive.

"I'm not hungry. Thanks."

The other hero stepped out of the door way and into the room, approaching the chair where she was sitting. "Listen," he started, not sounding condescending or authoritative… just sounding tired, "You've been up here all night, you got here almost 24 hours ago and I haven't seen you eat or drink anything aside from coffee and tea. This isn't easy for anyone, it's bad enough Rita won't come out of her room and Steve is on a warpath, we don't need you locking yourself in here and holding some constant vigil."

The dark haired young woman looked up at Negative Man for what might have been the first time since she got to the manor. She couldn't remember making eye contact with a single person since she got the message on her communicator at the Watchtower. But now, her hood was down and she was looking up into the face of the bandaged man standing before her. She opened her mouth to speak, but after a moment's hesitation closed it again.

Negative Man's shoulder's sunk and he let out a small sigh. "You've healed all of the wounds you could with your powers, there's nothing you can do for him right now. All any of us can do is wait… and I think it would be a good idea if while you're waiting you came and ate some pancakes and got some sleep."

Raven stood up from the chair and reluctantly let go of Gar's hand. She allowed herself to take in his entire visage for a moment. He had grown a little since she'd last seen him. His hair was only a few inches long, but laid messily on his head, he had finally grown those sideburns that he had always talked about wanting while they were dating, but she'd repeatedly talked him out of… they didn't look as silly as she thought they would. Maybe that was because his face had matured a little, his jaw looking a little squarer than she remembered it. She wondered if he had gotten taller as well, but there was no way to gauge that with him lying down on the hospital bed. She wanted to reach out and brush her fingers across his cheek, but she resisted, settling for adjusting the blanket that lay on his chest, pulling it up as if she were tucking him in for bed.

She turned swiftly from the changeling and pulled up her hood, walking out of the room with Negative Man close at her side. As they navigated the well-decorated halls of the manor, the other hero gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know the Doom Patrol aren't exactly known for our optimism and cheery attitudes… but he's going to be alright. Frogface is pretty resilient and he's gotten through worse scrapes than this. He's not going to be out of our hair this easy."

Of all the people in the world, Raven didn't need to be told about how strong willed Gar was. When they were younger, he had practically forced his way into being her best friend through relentless badgering, pestering, and those horrible jokes. When they were a little older, he'd tricked her into dating him by similar tactics, asking her to hang out whenever there was a free moment until eventually she relented. And as her boyfriend… he had been wonderful. He had been strong like a rock when she needed someone to lean on, uncompromisingly fun and funny when she needed cheering up, and ceaselessly caring and affectionate even when she was pushing him away. No, Raven didn't need to hear about how resilient and determined Gar could be… but it did feel oddly reassuring to hear it spoken out loud. She nodded toward Negative Man, tried to force a small smile onto her face, but failed.

It wasn't long before the pair reached the dining room, which was much too large in Raven's opinion. She was glad when Negative man lead her past the long oak table and through the door to the kitchen, where there was a breakfast nook where the pancakes, plates, silverware, and condiments were already laid out. She noticed there were six places set at the table, but it seemed like only Robotman, Negative Man, and herself had found their way to breakfast that morning.

"Hey there, girlie," Robotman greeted her, from the spot at the table where he was already pouring syrup on his pancakes. Raven had overheard Cyborg and Beast Boy talking about how Robotman recharged by consuming and processing organic material… but she wondered if he could really taste the syrup and butter on his pancakes or if those were just being used out of an old habit.

"Good morning," She said with a small voice as she sat down across the small table from him, Negative Man taking the seat next to her. She must have been hungrier than she originally assumed, because as soon as she had one bite of the light and fluffy pancakes, she couldn't help but eat a whole short stack. They weren't as good at the breakfasts that Cyborg used to cook at Titans Tower, but they were a comfort to her empty stomach. The two men ate in silence, but something about their presence was comforting to her. She had heard Gar speak of them a lot and even though she didn't know them well, they made her feel welcome and even joked with her in a way that reminded her of her friends. Listening to Negative Man's snarky remarks and Robotman's playful teasing made it abundantly clear to Raven the effect the two men had on the person who Garfield had grown up to be. While it was clear that all three of them were tense, the silence between them was not an uncomfortable one, and it continued as they finished their meals and began to clean up.

Robotman was putting the extra food into the fridge incase anyone else wanted it later and Raven had begun to do the dishes, when Negative Man stopped her. "I can do that," he stated softly, and took the sponge right out of her hand. "You go get some rest, kid."

Raven would have to get these nicknames to stop eventually, but now was not the time to bring up that point. "Okay…" she agreed, her own exhaustion coming through in her voice as she spoke, a raspy note added to her usual monotone. "Thanks for breakfast."

She tried to ignore the worried glances both men shot her as she exited the room, trying to hide her face deeper under her hood. She navigated her way through the halls, absentmindedly letting her feet lead her to the guest room where she had placed her overnight bag when she first arrived at the manor. While she wasn't exactly familiar with the large residence/headquarters she had slept there twice before and both times it had been in the same room. When she reached the door, she paused, knowing that if she continued walking a few more steps, she would be at the door of Gar's bedroom; the one he had inhabited growing up, the one he slept in on his rare visits home during their Titan years, the one he had probably moved back into… She opened the door to her room, stepped inside, and quickly shut the door before any more thoughts of the green man could invade her mind. The guest room was a decent size, a little larger than the bedroom she had at the Watchtower or Titans Tower. There was old wallpaper on the walls with a delicate and faded rose pattern. The bed had a wooden frame, which matched the other furniture, and crème colored linens. She went to the armchair in the corner, where her she had thrown her duffle bag the day before and took out her shower supplies and the sweatpants and tank top she had packed to sleep in. She had rushed to Dayton manor when she heard the news of Gar's condition, directly after a mission and didn't have a chance to clean up and could barely even remember packing her bag.

She crossed the hall to the bathroom. The only room with a private bathroom was the master bedroom that Elastigirl and Mento lived in, but the building was large enough and had enough bathrooms scattered through out that everyone essentially had a private bathroom anyway. When she entered this one, she could tell her suspicions of Gar moving back into his old room were correct. A cheesy cheetah print towel hung messily from a hook on the back of the door, a green toothbrush and an open tube of toothpaste lay haphazardly on the edge of the porcelain sink, a pile of discarded pajamas and socks were pouring from the hamper, and the shower curtain was one of those novelty world map ones with some of the locations marked with permanent marker. She took a deep breath and then let it out with a sigh, pulling a clean towel out of the small linen closet. As she took her warm shower, she had to chant to herself to prevent her emotions from running rampant with her powers. After the shower, she brushed her teeth, placing her travel toothbrush and Gar's toothbrush into the holder that hung from the wall.

The girl was lucky enough that her thoughts had no time to catch up with her as she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Her sleep was dreamless... but she tossed and turned.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for your faves, follows, and comments! I hope you continue to give me feedback and let me know how I'm doing.

This chapter is a little bit light on Beast Boy stuff, but I promise he'll be more prominent in the next chapter. (Flashback anyone?)

* * *

"Raven!"

The girl rolled over, pulling the blankets tighter around her curled up body, reluctant to enter the waking world. For several minutes, she remained in her half sleeping state, ignoring the loud knocks on her door. Soon, she heard the sound of the door clicking open, muffled by her protective nest of covers.

"Raven… get up."

This time, her mind was a little more alert. That voice… who was it? This bed… wasn't the one in her room. Someone gently touched her foot through the blankets and she jolted up, sending the ornate glass lamp that sat on the nightstand next to the bed flying across the room with her powers, where it smashed against the wall and shattered. As she sat up in the bed, everything rushed back to her. The message from the Doom Patrol, Gar being hurt, Dayton Manor… she breathed heavily from the shock of waking up in such a way, but once she felt composed enough, she looked up to see Negative Man standing at the foot of her bed.

The older hero seemed slightly amused by Raven's little display, "So, not a big on wake up calls, huh? I'll make note of that." When the former Titan turned to see what she'd destroyed in her outburst, Negative Man shook his head, "I wouldn't worry about that. It's probably a priceless work of art… which mean Steve has several more just like it."

Raven pulled the blanket up a little to make herself feel less exposed. She knew it wasn't Negative Man's intention to invade her privacy; he was probably just worried when she didn't answer her door when he knocked. She just wasn't used to being in the type of environment where people could just open to door to her room without knowing a ten digit key code or having executive clearance from one of the founding members of the Justice League themselves. Even in Titans Tower, her teammates had been reluctant to enter her room, the only people who ever let themselves in without permission were Starfire and… Beast Boy.

"Is he-" she began, her brows furrowing together.

"Gar's condition is unchanged, you were only asleep for a few hours. You didn't miss much… aside from lunch," Negative Man answered before she could even finish asking. While it would have been better if he were awake and well… it was good that his state hadn't deteriorated at all. "Steve wants the team to meet in the living room for a briefing."

She looked at him blankly for a moment, not quite following his purpose for barging in on her while she was asleep.

While she couldn't see his eyes, she could practically feel them rolling at her. "So… you should get dressed and come downstairs…" he said in a tone that made it sound like this conclusion should have been the most obvious in the world.

Raven had no idea how much standing she had in this operation at all. She had helped to heal any physical wounds on Garfield's body when she first arrived, but since then she felt useless and almost as if she were intruding on a private moment by hanging around… though of course no one had said anything to support that idea. Even though Negative Man and Robotman were trying to make her feel included, she certainly didn't feel like part of the 'team' and wasn't sure Mento and Rita would really want her listening to the details of the situation… but by Negative Man's demeanor, it was clear that he wasn't going to let her opt out of this briefing.

"Okay," She said, letting her tone match his slightly sarcastic one, "Then you should leave so I can get dressed."

Far from being offended, Negative Man let out a slight laugh. "Okay, Sunshine. No need to get grumpy." He held up his hands in front of him in mock defense before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

Raven tried not to let herself think about how Negative Man's mannerisms reminded her of Gar's as she quickly got dressed. She put on her usual ensemble of leotard, cloak, boots, and belt. She tried to flatten out her short hair by running a brush through it, but since she had gone to bed right after shower, her hair had dried into a bit of a mess. She settled for 'presentable' rather than 'neat' and left it at that.

When she opened her door she was surprised to find that not only had Negative Man waited for her, but he had also been joined by Robotman. "Hey there, sleepyhead," the metallic hero greeted.

Raven pulled up the hood of her cloak. She wasn't sure if it had been the shower and nap that helped or the fact that Mento had apparently found out something important enough to call everyone into a meeting, but Raven felt significantly less hopeless. Judging by the ribbing she was getting from the Doom Patrol members, it seemed like maybe they were feeling a little better as well. She knew from experience that when one of your friends was in trouble or hurt, there was nothing worse than sitting around and doing nothing. It gave you too much time to think about how things could get worse or how things might never get better. Being busy was a blessing for someone with a troubled mind.

She followed the two men through the hallway and when they finally entered the living room where Mento and Elasti-girl were already waiting, Raven was glad when Robotman patted the spot on the couch next to him, signaling for her to sit down. The room was quite large and contained two couches, several chairs, a wooden coffee table, various strange artifacts, some machinery and computers, and a large screen that currently had a map displayed on it with notes scribbled in red upon it. She was sitting furthest away from the screen, sharing one of the couches with Robotman, while Negative man was sitting in an armchair, his left leg twitching up and down impatiently.

Elasti-girl was on the other couch, alone. Her eyes looked puffy and over her usual red and white uniform dress, she was wearing an oversized gray, wool cardigan. Of all the people in the room, it was Rita's aura that was hitting Raven the strongest. Her emotions radiated through the space with such intensity that it made the empath feel dizzy. She was giving off worry, fear, anger, and anxiety just like everyone else… but, there was something more. It was like a deep sorrow that made you feel like laughing more than crying… or like an affection so strong that it hurt. It took Raven a moment to realize that it was a mother's love. Rita was torn between feelings of hope and joy at the thought of Gar getting better and the already very real pain that came with the prospect of losing her adopted son. It took everything in Raven to keep from crying as she felt these emotions coming off of the other woman and she couldn't help but wonder how Elasti-girl was holding back the tears herself.

In an attempt to distract herself from these feelings, she tried to focus on Mento's emotions. He felt guilty, as any leader does when someone on their team is hurt, even if the cause is out of their control… and he felt angry. He felt very, very angry. That was an emotion Raven understood, it was something she'd felt many times before and at one point or another felt from all of her teammates and all of her enemies. It was one of the most natural feelings in the world, especially in this situation.

The man was standing in front of the screen typing something on a laptop. Without any sort of introduction, or notice, he began speaking. "If you'll direct your attention to the map, you'll see I've circled the location of our last encounter with Brain and Mallah. I've also marked important locations in the area including the possible targets they were trying to hit before we stopped them." Indeed, the map did have various locations circled, everything from the home of an important politician to the local lumber mill. While Raven hadn't been at the battle where Gar had been injured, it was pretty clear to her that Mento didn't really have any leads.

With a few keyboard clicks, another image appeared on the screen, this time an image of Gar, a rather old one at that, probably his official file photo from when he rejoined the Doom Patrol. He had a mop of shaggy hair on his head and was smiling a lopsided grin, fangs showing. This time, Mento did clear his throat before speaking, "As we are all aware, Garfield is in a coma. When we first brought him back to the manor, he suffered from a broken arm, sprained ankle, and various lacerations. When Raven arrived, she healed these wounds with the use of her powers, but Garfield remained unconscious. All of our scans have shown that there is nothing physically wrong with him."

Negative Man, who's leg had never stopped it's twitching, even as the leader began to talk, spoke up. "What do you mean, nothin's wrong with him? You don't go into a coma from a broken arm."

Robotman sent his friend a warning glance and Elasti-girl wetted her lips with her tongue but held back whatever she was about to say. Mento didn't look away from his computer, but his shoulders tensed. He ignored the comment and continued. "There are no injuries to his head or spine."

The image up on the monitor changed again to a surveillance video. The image was black and white and sort of blurry, but in context Raven knew exactly what she was seeing. A rhino limped into the center of the frame and then changed into the form of a lean but muscular young man. He was holding his one arm close to his body, and turning his head from left to right as if he were looking for something. He seemed to find what he was looking for somewhere out of the camera's view and surprisingly, his frame relaxed a little as he shouted something… but the video didn't have any audio and he was too far away to even attempt to read his lips. Suddenly the screen lit up white and the changeling fell to the ground. He lay there lifeless for a moment before another figure entered the screen. It was a tall, thin girl, who strolled up to Gar's body and knelt down for a moment, and… checked his pulse? The figure jumped and turned, as if hearing a sound behind her and then ran off screen as if she'd been called by someone. There was an eerie moment of Gar's figure lying still on the ground before Mento clicked his keyboard again and moved on to the next image. It was a zoomed in image of the second person from the video, but she was just a black and white blur that looked more like a shadow than a person, even though the picture had been enhanced.

Mento began speaking again, "As you can see, Garfield lost consciousness from an attack that appears to be of a mystical, electrical, technological, or otherwise non corporeal nature. While I can't say for sure who the attacker was, it seems like a safe bet to say it was the girl on the tape… it also seems pretty logical that she is the same girl we faced in battle along with Brain and Mallah." This was all news to Raven, but it seemed at if everyone else in the room had figured at much from watching the video. "I didn't engage in combat with her and can't say I even got a good look at her, did anyone?"

Robotman nodded, "I got a pretty good look at her, alright… when she was trying to crush me under a cement truck." He sat forward on the couch, leaning his elbows on his knees. "The girl is a magic user. I don't know if it's psychokinesis, telekinesis, witchcraft, or what… but it was like she just made things happen. When she walked, things fell down."

A mental list of all of the villains she'd ever faced started running through Raven's head. It began to narrow down as she tried to think of which ones could move objects with their minds. When you've been in the hero business for a while, you'd be surprised at how many people you'd come across that could possibly drop a truck on someone. The girl continued to weed out the possibilities, as it seemed the others were silently doing the same. She hesitated, still on unsteady footing about how much the Doom Patrol actually wanted her to get involved with this investigation… but ultimately deciding that she didn't care if she stepped on a few toes if it meant she could help Gar.

"What did she look like?" the former Titan asked, her voice was quiet, but it still cut abruptly through the silence of the room.

Robotman turned to her, "It was dark, but… she was tallish and thin. I think she had pale skin and… her hair was… well, I don't think she had hair."

Raven continued to rack her brain, finding herself at a loss until Negative Man added his description. "Her energy wasn't black like ours…" he spoke, directing his comment at Raven, "it was pink."

The half demon sat up straight in a moment of realization. "I-… I think I know who it is…" She rose from the plush sofa and walked to the front of the room, where Mento was standing in front of the screen displaying the dark and blurry image. It wasn't until she was a foot away from him, that her old fear of imposing her ideas and opinions in a place where they didn't belong returned, but it was too late to go sit back down now. "Do you mind if I use your computer to bring up file?"

The graying man took a step back, gesturing for her to proceed. She closed out of his presentation and got onto the internet. After a series of passwords, key codes, verifications, and other checks and balances, she found her way into the Justice League's villain database. After that, it was only seconds before she had opened the file for one of the Titan's old villains and the large screen behind her was displaying the image of a pink haired young woman.

"That's the one," Robotman said, with a grave nod.

Negative man leaned forward in his chair, "I think so too. She's gotten a hair cut and… matured a little. But that looks like Brain and Mallah's new lackey."

Raven took a step to the side and let Mento pour over the computer file that contained the most recent info on the villain referred to as 'Jinx'. It was a pretty slim file, not even containing her real name, but he seemed to think her list of powers and physical attributes matched what he and his team had encountered. "Alright, well that answers the question of who… but we still need a what, where, and a why."

Raven went back to her seat next to Robotman and Mento opened up his presentation again, bringing up the same map as before, but this time the red markings were dividing the area up into different sectors, one of them being marked with an x. "Without any motive or objective, we're going to have to start from the bottom. Starting tomorrow, Rita and I will be going over all the crime reports from the area and surrounding districts to see if there are any unusual patterns. The rest of you will be searching for any clues or hideouts, starting at the scene of the battle and branching out from there. With any luck, we can locate their new head quarters and figure out what they're after."

Mento turned off the large monitor and continued to type on his laptop, apparently done with his briefing. Elasti-girl mumbled something about the med wing and hastily exited. Robotman and Negative Man got up from their seats and began to walk toward the door, Raven following suit, until Mento called out in a stern but level voice. "Raven, a word."

She hovered on the spot for a moment before turning and walking back over to his laptop station. "Yes?"

"Log out of the Justice League Database before you get into trouble for opening it on an unauthorized computer," he said in a calm tone. As she did as he said, he continued talking in the same manner, "though, I'd appreciate it if as soon as possible you'd contact the League and have them send me the file on Jinx so I can look at it more thoroughly."

She nodded, and began to walk away again, but halted and turned when she heard Mento pointedly clear his throat. Once she was looking at him again he spoke, "and… thank you for your continued assistance."

Underneath her still raised hood, the girl's face shifted from its usual stony countenance to something only slightly different. To anyone looking at her, it would only be noted as a small softening at the corners of the mouth and a slight twitch of the bottom lip as she searched for the words to say. Finally finding them, her voice came out a little bit quicker than she had meant it to, "… Of course."

She just barely saw something strange come over Mento's face as well before she excused herself from the conversation and made her way to the door. In the hall, Robotman and Negative Man were leaning against opposite walls, looking like a pair of bouncers at a club or two gargoyles on an old fence… or maybe actually a bit more like a salt and pepper shaker set. When they noticed her, both of them stood up right and began walking with her as she started through the halls, not really sure where her feet would take her.

"You okay, kiddo?" Robotman spoke first, a note of genuine concern in his voice.

"Mento didn't ring you out, did he?" Negative Man added only a moment later.

Raven shook her head, "It wasn't like that." It was amazing to her that two grown men who were professional super heroes seemed worried about getting in trouble from with their leader. She was sort of glad that they cared enough to wait and make sure she was all right, but the attention was a little daunting. She wasn't a big sharer, but she could tell by the way the duo were following her that they weren't going to leave her alone until she divulged at least a little more detail. "He was only asking if I could have the Jinx file sent to him."

"Oh," Negative Man said, sounding an odd mix of relieved and disappointed.

"What are we going to do now, if we don't start searching until tomorrow?" Robotman asked no one in particular. Raven found it odd that she was being included in this decision… and even stranger that she could feel herself just letting it happen. Mento had said 'the rest of you' during his plans and not 'both of you' signaling that Raven was officially going to be a member of the ground search party. His comment as she was leaving seemed to confirm this. She was relieved that she would be involved in some aspect of the search and not just left to her own devices. It made sense that someone as tactical as Mento would want to use all of his resources to the best of his advantage. What didn't quite make as much sense was why Robotman and Negative Man had seemingly absorbed her into their evening plans.

"Well, we could do the responsible thing and go look over the map for the sector we're searching tomorrow…" Negative Man began in a leisurely tone, "Or we could open a bottle of something and go sit on the patio."

In all honesty, Raven would have liked to have returned to the med wing to check in on Gar, but there was no way she wanted to be there at the same time as Elasti-girl. It was hard enough for Raven to process the other woman's emotions during the team meeting, she couldn't imagine being in the med wing with her while she was sitting at Gar's bedside.

When no one responded, Negative Man spoke again, "Or we could combine the two ideas. Let's sit on the patio, drink a little wine, and look over those maps, huh?"

Robotman shrugged in semi-approval and the two men turned down a hallway that lead to the dining room which would in turn lead out to the patio. It took them a moment to notice Raven hadn't turned with them, but when they did, Negative Man stuck his head back around the corner of the wall and called out, "C'mon, kid."

Raven stopped in her tracks but didn't turn around. "I… I think I'm going to go to bed."

"You just woke up," he pointed out, sounding a little let down. By this point, Robotman had made his way back down the hall as well and the two were standing there expectantly, concerned looks on their faces.

The girl turned to them. Her entire body was hidden under her cloak except for the bottom half of her face that didn't fall under the shadow of her hood and her feet which stuck out from under the hem. "I… I need to meditate…"

Negative Man's hands moved and it looked like he was about to say something, but Robotman spoke before he could. "You go get some rest, girlie," the large robotic man spoke, nodding gently. "We're gonna get an early start tomorrow. I want you down in the kitchen by 6:30 for breakfast."

"Oh, as if it's not bad enough that Mento is ordering her around, you're setting a schedule for her?" Negative Man asked with crossed arms.

Robotman slapped his friend playfully on the back, but it was hard enough that the lankier hero nearly tripped. "Listen here, mummy face, whenever we go anywhere I end up carrying your body around most of the time when you go all 'soul self'. The last thing I need is for Raven to faint because she's gallivanting through the jungle with no food in her stomach. She can get her butt downstairs to eat some oatmeal before we leave."

"Whatever you say, mother dear," Negative Man said sarcastically to his teammate before returning his gaze to the younger hero. "You go rest up and meditate and whatever… but if you need us, you know where to find us."

Raven nodded, "Thanks." She made her way as quickly as possible to the guest room and shut the door with a sigh. Even though Negative Man was correct about her only having woken up about an hour and a half ago, she felt absolutely exhausted. She knew it was a combination of the fact that she'd stayed up for far too long before her little nap, the stress of the investigation, and how emotionally draining the situation was. She unlatched her cloak and tossed it over the back of the chair that was in front of the vanity. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment and reached a hand up to touch her short hair, then her pale cheek. She parted her lips and let out another deep sigh before turning away and sitting on the edge of the bed.

She clipped her Justice League communicator from her belt and located Cyborg in her contacts to begin typing him a message. She realized she hadn't contacted him at all since she left the Watchtower and found it difficult to decide where to start.

_'Victor,_

_I'm going to be staying at Dayton Manor for a while. Gar is not physically injured in any way, but he remains unconscious. Mento has already come up with a plan to discover the source of the problem. After reviewing evidence, it appears that Jinx is partially responsible, though there's still a lot that's unclear. Mento has requested that any files the Justice League has on Jinx be sent to the Doom Patrol when you get the chance. I'll keep you updated on the search and let you know if there's anything else you can do to help.'_

The girl hesitated for a moment and then hit send. She knew that Cyborg and Jinx had a bit of a history, but she couldn't let her worry over his feelings get in the way of finding out what had happened to Beast Boy. She also knew that if she asked someone else for the files and Cyborg found out later, he would be none too happy with her.

She felt like she had only placed her communicator down for a moment before it let out a familiar beep and vibrated against the comforter of the bed.

_'Files sent. I'll update Batman on the situation. I'm going to try to get down there as soon as I can. Be careful, Rae.'_

She smiled slightly at her friend's message before placing her communicator back on her belt. She knew Cyborg would be there if he could, but Victor was a more important part of the Justice League than she was. He also didn't have the power to teleport himself to any location he wanted on a whim, the way she did.

The girl's smile faded almost as soon as it appeared, and she shifted to the lotus position and began to chant. Almost instantly, she was in her usual meditative trance, levitating a few inches above the unmade bed in the guest room. Her thoughts were racing with fear and anticipation, but she tried to push all of this out of her mind. She needed her thoughts to land somewhere restful if this was going to do her any good. After sorting through her memories and streams of consciousness for what felt like a very long time, she settled on an image that seemed far away and blurry… but had a warm brightness to it. She could hear Robin's voice somewhere to her right, but the words didn't seem important to her. She could only sense that she was surrounded by friends and things were peaceful for the time being, as she stared out over the bay to watch the sun setting over Jump City. After a moment, she felt a slight weight on her back, as someone placed their arm over her shoulders. She turned to her left to see a green face next to hers. Upon sensing her looking, he turned to her with a toothy grin. She quickly directed her eyes outward again, but even as she stared into the golden, pink, and purple hues that were washing over the usual gray of their city. She could feel his gaze still upon her face, the same was she could feel his arm over her shoulders. She stayed in this moment for as long as she could, letting the glow of the memory melt some of the anxieties she was feeling. Her emotions arranged themselves; clearing the paths to her chakras and making her powers feel easier to control. Once she felt even and aligned, she let the moment go, the sun setting into purple night, her friends walking toward the door that lead down from the roof and into the rest of the tower. Eventually, even Beast Boy's arm lifted from her shoulder and it's warmth faded. At the time when the memory formed, she had felt relieved to be rid of it. She was 15 and her face had burned with embarrassment at the close proximity the changeling had been standing in, but she hadn't pushed him away in fear of ruining the budding friendship with her then new teammate. Looking back and knowing how things would eventually develop, she felt a completely different set of emotions, the prime one being fondness for Gar and all of her friends.

She came out of her meditative state feeling balanced and in control… but perhaps even more tired than she did before it. With the last of her energy, she changed into her pajamas, set the alarm function on her communicator for 6:15 so she could comply with Robotman's request, and slid under the covers. She wondered momentarily what tomorrow would bring, but slipped off to sleep before she could come to any sort of conclusion.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hey ya'll! Sorry it took a while to get this up. Wanted to make sure I proof read it before posting, and I've been sort of busy. Just graduated and moved to a different town.

I'd like to thank everyone for their comments and reviews and take a sec to answer a question I received from **bizarrecollector**. I will probably not be including any more Doom Patrol members, just because I like to keep my casts relatively small and manageable. In the next chapter, I will however have some more Titans and Justice Leaguers.

I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, it has some actual Beast Boy dialog in it! It's a little dark, but I based it loosely on what happened in the comics. As always, let me know what you think! I love reading your reviews.

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"What? You think I can't do it, Raven?" he shouted at her, pacing back and forth in front of the large window in her bedroom. "I don't know why you think I can't handle being team leader!"

She was sitting on the edge of her bed, hunched over and resting her head in her hands. This had been the third shouting match they'd gotten into this month and she could hardly stand it. "You know that's not what I meant," she said, not raising her voice, but her agitation was clear in her words. "All I'm saying is it's changing you. You're different."

They were fighting about Beast Boy's recent attitude change that had happened after he'd become the semi-official leader of the Titans. A lot of things had changed in the past few months and the team dynamic was now completely different than it had been when they were kids. Dick, now Nightwing, had returned to Gotham. Starfire had returned to space to deal with the longstanding issue with her sister. Cyborg had been recruited into the Justice League after an accident on the Watchtower that required his specialties in technology. While all of their friends had gone, other heroes had joined the team to take their place. Beast Boy and Raven were the only two Titans of their generation left… and they were hardly still teens.

"Of course I've changed! I had to change! The team needed me to grow up!" The green hero was yelling, gesturing wildly with his hands as he spoke.

Raven snapped back, her eyes narrowing in his direction, "Just because you have a little responsibility doesn't mean you have to start acting like a jerk. You storm around, barking out orders, and holding everyone to these impossible standards! You're worse than Robin ever was!"

"I'm just trying to protect everyone! The team needs a strong leader to keep everyone on track! We can't just spend all day having pizza parties and group hugs and just cross our fingers and hope we don't get our asses handed to us!"

Raven lowered her face into her hands again, "Would you listen to yourself. This isn't you. You're so strung out trying to make everyone proud and acting like a mini-batman. When was the last time you even laughed at something?"

"Just because I'm not some little kid who only cares about video games and practical jokes doesn't mean I'm a different person!"

"But you don't care about ANYthing you used to care about! I don't even think you care about me anymore…"

"Stop, Rae… I…" The green hero stopped his pacing and approached the bed, kneeling down in front of where Raven was sitting. He took her hands and held them in his own, looking up into her face. "Raven, I-"

"Don't say you love me, Garfield. We both know you don't mean it. We hardly even talk anymore," she was speaking quickly, the words spilling out of her as soon as she thought them. "The only reason we haven't broken up yet is because you're worried about tarnishing your reputation as fearless leader."

"Raven, stop!"

"The Garfield I know didn't care at all about what people thought about him! He didn't worry about people respecting him or looking up to him, he just wanted to make people happy!"

"Raven!"

"He was fun and funny and always knew how to make people feel like they were safe and cared about! But now you're all about this agro bullshit! The new recruits on this team are just kids! Miss Martian and Blue Beetle and Kid Devil, they need somewhere they can go and feel accepted!"

"The Titans aren't some after school club! This is a team set up to protect the city, not help some awkward teens build confidence!" Gar had released her hands and was standing up again.

Not feeling in the mood to be shouted down too, Raven rose from her bed and placed her hands firmly on her hips. "Is that so? Is that why you joined this team? Because I remember a little green runt, scared out of his mind, on his own for the first time! I remember a little boy who didn't want to be alone!"

"That's funny, because I remember a little girl who wouldn't know how to make a friend even if she had a 300 page instruction manual! Since when are you all about friendship and togetherness?!"

A vase on Raven's desk began to crackle with black energy and then shattered, sending dried roses and shards of glass scattering onto the floor.

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" he asked, his lip curling with a snarl. "You always could dish it out, but you never could take it. I don't think I've ever seen you reach out to another person the whole time I've known you. You spend all of your time hiding yourself away and locking other people out… yet here you are yelling at me for not caring enough about the new kids on the team? I don't need advice in matters of love and friendship from the most cold and unfeeling person I've ever m-"

Without thinking, Raven swung back and slapped him right across his face. Since she wasn't really trained in physical combat and none of her powers were strength based, the slap hadn't hurt him more than any normal slap would. He got roughed up a hundred times worse than that on a weekly basis… but the fact that his usually passive and levelheaded girlfriend had resorted to hitting him to get him to stop talking seemed to freeze him in his tracks. The two of them stared at each other, blank faced and silent, as if neither of them could fully compute all of the horrible things they'd been yelling at each other. For a few moments it was like time had stopped… but then tears started flowing down Raven's cheeks, quickly escalating to quiet sobs.

He pulled her to his chest and held her and in turn she wrapped her arms tightly around his back. Objects were being encased with black energy and floating around the room, but the two of them seemed as if they didn't notice. She wept into his shoulder and he held her as close as humanly possible.

"Raven…" he started, his voice tight and raspy, "I… love you."

She buried deeper into his shoulder, struggling to calm herself enough that she could speak. "I… love you… too." The objects in her room crashed to the floor as they were suddenly released from the hold of her powers. She pushed herself away from him slightly, but didn't completely leave his embrace. "But this isn't working anymore."

"I know."

The next month and a half were awkward, to say the least. At the Tower, Raven and Beast Boy avoided each other at every turn. They never ate meals at the same time. If one of them was participating in a group activity in the living room, it was guaranteed the other would be busy doing something else. This came as a bit of a shock, especially to some of the younger Titans who had previously only known Raven and Beast Boy as an inseparable duo. The only time the two heroes could be spotted within a few feet of each other was when they were out on missions.

It was on one of these missions, a particularly bad fight with Cinderblock and Plasmus, that the tension between them finally broke. Raven was flying around, trying to distract Plasmus long enough for Static Shock to knock him out with a massive shock, when Cinderblock backhanded her. The blow knocked the wind out of her lungs and sent her hurtling through the air. She was sure she was either going to crash into the ground or hit a brick wall of one of the nearby buildings… when she thudded into something firm but forgiving, cushioning her inevitable impact. She opened her eyes and found herself in the arms of a large green gorilla. Beast Boy transformed back into his human form and set her right on her feet.

"You know, I thought girls were supposed to LOSE weight after a break up," He started with a smile, rubbing his side in an exaggerated manner, "but I think I just broke a rib, catching you. Have you been eating rocks?"

The joke was so bad, so inappropriate, and so ill timed that it completely caught Raven off guard. Before she could stop herself, she was laughing. And he was laughing too, the heartiest laugh she'd seen from him in what felt like ages. After a moment, the two of them pulled themselves together and finished the battle in record time, working together and using some of their famous collaborative moves.

After the battle was over, the paper work was filed, both villains were headed to the proper facilities, and all of the Titans were safely home and patched up… the two of them stayed in the living room deep into the night, watching some corny 80s movie Miss Martian had picked out with the younger Titans.

From that point on, things were a little better at the Titan's Tower. Beast Boy lightened up. He stopped scheduling so many drills and tactical meetings… and started taking the team out for ice cream after battles. After a while, Raven and Beast Boy were back to acting like the best friends they had once been, spending their free time together; sometimes talking about old battles and their dear friends… and sometimes just sitting next to each other while she read and he played video games, not saying anything at all. Beast Boy's last months at the Tower had been bitter sweet. While he had been acting more like his old self, he still had moments of stress and over reaction when it came to his position of leadership… and neither of them really approached the idea of getting back together, even though the tension between them was a secret to no one. They hid these feelings under jokes and sarcastic comments.

When the opportunity arose for Gar to move back to the Doom Patrol, she wasn't sure if he had grown to realize she was right about the position of leader taking a toll on him or if he was just feeling homesick, but he accepted. When he was gone, Tim Drake took over as leader, doing a pretty good job of it. Raven remained on the team for some time after Gar had left, but things weren't quite the same. She was happy when she was offered an interview at the Justice League and while she felt torn about leaving the place she'd called home for so long, it felt like it was time to leave the younger Titans to their own devices. They could take care of each other and find their own way just as she and her friends did before them… though she made damned sure that ever single one of the Titans knew they could call her and she would be back to help in a heartbeat. She even yielded to a few hugs on the day she departed.

"Raven, where'd you get off to?" Robotman's voice broke through her memories and brought her mind back to the current moment.

She lifted off the ground and hovered herself to look over the half demolished wall of at the old factory they were exploring. "I'm over here," she called, waving a hand to make sure she caught the attention of the metallic man. "Did you find something?"

"No…" He replied, walking through the old, door-less, stone frame and into the room where she was. He looked around briefly and then looked up at her, "Have you found anything?"

She landed back on the ground, a small cloud of dust puffing off of the dirty floor under her feet as she made contact. "No…" The three of them had left the manor at around 7:00am, arrived at the site around 7:15 thanks to Raven's soul self teleportation, and it was currently around 6:30pm. They had been looking for hours, only stopping occasionally to check in with each other and eat a quick lunch, and they hadn't seen anything but rusty machinery, old shipping boxes, and creepily deteriorating architecture. Raven hadn't known what they were expecting, but it was a little disappointing. Part of her wished that when they had first arrived there was just a ransom note pinned to the wall of the room where Gar had been attacked that stated what had happened, why, and what course of action they could take to reverse it… but life was never that simple.

Robotman placed a large hand on Raven's back, "There's still a lot of area to cover… but I think we've done just about all we can in this place. What do you say we find ol' bandages for brains and pack it up for the day?"

Raven was reluctant to give up the search, but he was right. They'd done aerial and ground scans of the entire sector, searching the factory and the woods in the surrounding area. They'd found no sign of Brain, Mallah, or Jinx aside from the damage left by the battle with the Doom Patrol… and nothing appeared to be missing or even worth stealing.

The two walked out into the open and found Negative Man's body sitting deadly still, propped against a wall. Despite the fact that Raven had the ability to separate her spirit from her physical being, she couldn't help but find it a little disturbing to see the man's figure in it's dormant state. Robotman, on the other hand, was unfazed. He heaved his friend's body over his shoulder, and continued walking. Raven followed for a moment, but then felt she'd better serve the situation by actually finding Negative Man. His soul self gave off a strange aura and she was easily able to locate it, especially since there was no one else around. She flew into the forest until she found his shadowy form moving quickly between trees.

"Hey!" she called out, unsure of what to say, settling for the generic, "What are you doing?"

He paused, looked up, and then zoomed to her side. She hadn't really had a chance to see his powers up this close and not during a battle. He shrugged casually, "Just giving this area another look…"

"Robotman thinks we should head back," she said with a nod in the direction she'd just come from, "He has your… um… you."

The older man laughed, the noise sounding strange coming from his soul self, as if it was reverberating. "Alright then. Lead the way."

As soon as they reached Robotman, the black shape reentered its body, with what Raven could only describe as a snap.

When his larger friend placed him back on his feet, he touched his face, as if fussing with his wrappings. "Thanks, Cliff," he said, and then turned to Raven, "Are you going to give us a lift, or should I try to hail a cab?"

Raven shot him a look, obviously unamused by his rather lame joke, and then a large dark form, in the shape of a Raven enveloped the three of them. While it used a good deal of energy and concentration and could be dangerous if she didn't know the exact location she was going to, Raven's brand of teleportation had gotten her out of some rough scrapes and was a very convenient manner of travel when she was with non-flying heroes. She gracefully deposited the three of them in front of the main entrance of the Dayton Manor.

"That's pretty cool, I could get used to that," Negative Man said, stretching a bit as he began to walk further into the mansion. "Now, what do you say I heat up the grill and make us some dinner? Since we have a trendy young person around, I was thinking I'd make something trendy. Maybe some chicken kabobs with hummus. I hear Indian food is the new Asian food, right, Raven?"

Thrown off a little by being called trendy and not being a great conversationalist to begin with, Raven shrugged and then answered in a deadpan, "I live in outer space…"

Robotman laughed at this but Negative Man ignored her comment and continued his culinary musings, "but, we could always go traditional and just have a nice steak. Maybe some baked potatoes. I don't really know what I'm in the mood for, all I know is those sandwiches you packet us for lunch did not hold me over, Tin Can."

"Well, if you'd woken up earlier, you could have had breakfast like the rest of us," Robotman retorted, the two of them bickering like a married couple. The normalcy of their friendship was comforting to Raven. Even though they had been through a lot of terrible things in their lives and times were pretty dark at the moment, the two of them were able to joke around and maintain some sense of humanity. The girl had noted that that seemed to be one of the primary functions of friendship and family… it kept you from destroying yourself even when you had every reason to.

Raven began following the two of them toward the kitchen, but stopped, turning for the staircase instead. "I'll meet up with you guys in a bit," she informed them with a slight wave of her hand. Neither of them pushed the subject, nodding and continuing on their route.

The half demon made her way up the stairs and through the halls until she found her way to the med wing. She pushed the heavy wooden door open, and was surprised to see someone else already at Gar's bedside. Mento was standing rather formally next to the occupied hospital bed, checking some of the machines that were attached to the changeling. Raven was about to leave, hoping she was unnoticed, when the man spoke.

"So, you're back," he stated, not looking away from the monitor as he adjusted the level of… something or other. Raven may be a healer, but she didn't pretend to understand medical equipment. Knowing there was no escaping without appearing very rude, she approached the bed as well, walking around to the other side. "Did you find anything worth noting?"

"No," Raven stated simply. Her eyes were looking down at Gar. She had heard it said, that when someone was in a coma, they often looked so peaceful that they could be sleeping. Raven didn't think that, at least not as she was looking at her friend. She'd seen him sleeping; he tossed, he turned, he drooled, he smiled, he talked, he snored, he made animal noises… sometimes he even transformed into a cat. This cold and unmoving mask was not sleep. She swallowed hard and looked up at Mento, "Did you get the files Cyborg sent?"

"Yes," he said politely, "Thank you." The man finished whatever he was doing to the machine and turned to look at the bed where his adoptive son was laying. He ran a hand through his short, red and gray hair, and sighed. He didn't have to say anything for Raven to know his thoughts must have been going down a similar vein as hers. The two of them stood on either side of the bed, silently looking at the unmoving occupant until the man spoke again, "He's holding up."

Raven nodded, "That's good."

"Can you… detect anything from him?" Mento asked, hesitantly, then clarified, "With your powers. You have some sort of telepathy, right?"

"I can't read thoughts…. I can only sense emotions," she corrected, absentmindedly reaching down to brush a stray strand of hair from Gar's forehead. "And no… I can't. I feel like I've been trying to find his aura since I got here. I used to be able to feel his presence from a mile away… even if there were hundreds of people around… but here he is and I can't… I can't find him."

There was another moment of silence before Mento offered a soft, "I know what you mean."

Raven took a deep breath and drew herself away from the bed, walking over to the window. From the second story, she could see down to the patio, where Negative Man was struggling to light the grill, which was spewing out clouds of black smoke. "Larry… is cooking dinner. If you're hungry."

"I'll be down in a while, I want to run a few more tests," the man stated, averting his gaze from his son and back up to the monitors. "Save me some food and make sure those two knuckle heads don't burn the house down, please."

"Yes, sir," Raven said, taking this as her cue to leave.

As she reached the door, he spoke again, giving the girl the answers to two questions she hadn't asked and hadn't really thought of asking, "Rita is in the library. On the first floor, east wing."

He was brief and his voice had no real inflection, but from it, Raven could gather a lot of information. Firstly, she now knew the location of Elasti-girl… and the library… but more importantly, she picked up on a command. Or maybe it was a request. Dinner was being cooked and now she knew the location of the only team member who had not yet been informed. She made her was down the stairs, slowing her pace when she reached the east wing. She peered through doors until she caught the site of bookshelves.

All of the rooms in the manor were decorated lavishly, on the verge of eccentrically, and the library was no exception. It had shelves of books, ridiculous amounts of books, many of them seeming old and rare. But that wasn't the end of it. There were also paintings hanging on the walls that Raven couldn't name the artist of, but she was sure they were expensive… and even a collection of what appeared to be ceremonial masks from around the world. The room was so vast, that even when Raven had fully entered, it took her a moment to notice the other woman. Sitting in a large chair by the window, was Elasti-girl, the book in her lap not even open as she stared off into space. The older woman wasn't in her costume, but instead in a pair of dark blue jeans and a comfy looking button up, her hair was pulled back into a short ponytail at the nape of her neck. It was clear that she hadn't noticed Raven yet either.

The girl hesitated; she had been calling everyone by their superhero names but was gradually switching to being on a first name basis with Robotman and Negative Man. Somehow, neither of these seemed appropriate with the other woman. The way she was dressed in regular clothes and her demeanor made the name 'Elasti-girl' seem much too over the top and upbeat… but, when the former Titan had first met the Doom Patrol, Elasti-girl and Mento had been introduced by Gar as his mother and father, which seemed to put up some different social barrier than what Raven felt with the other two Doom Patrol members. First name was out of the question.

"Mrs. Dayton…" Raven said with an unsure voice. The other woman looked up, a little startled at first, but then her face softened into a smile. The girl continued, "Dinner will be ready in a little while…"

The brunette nodded, placing her book aside and rising from her chair. She walked over to the younger girl and the two of them started down the hallway. Raven couldn't think of anything to say to the older hero, who was still giving off an aura of horrible mixed emotions that made Raven feel drained when she even considered trying to process them. Lucky for her, they ran into Negative Man shortly after leaving the library.

"There you girls are, I was looking for you," he said, trotting down the hallway to meet them, even though he would only be turning around again in order to lead them back outside. He smelled of smoke and marinade. "I need someone to taste test for me, Cliff has no appreciation for my culinary masterpieces. Now hurry up before everything burns!"

The two women followed the bandaged man as he rushed through the halls and they arrived on the patio just in time for him to save his precious sirloin from being charred to a crisp under the not so watchful eyes of his best friend. Mento joined them promptly, and the group all sat down to eat together. While the steak and potatoes didn't exactly live up to the reputation that Negative Man had built for them, it was a pretty good meal, and certainly better than anything Raven would have been able to cook. They ate in relative silence, only really speaking about their plans for the next day's search/research ventures and a few things they'd discovered that weren't really big finds and didn't bring them in any way closer to catching the criminals or helping Gar. When they were finished, Mento excused himself, saying he'd be in his study… and Rita, who had talked the least out of anyone during dinner, excused herself as well, not saying where she was headed, but Raven had a hunch she was going to the medical bay. That left Raven and the men to do the dishes.

"So, how was it? As good as the food they feed you on that fancy space ship of yours?" Negative Man asked, adding more plates to the stack of dirty ones next to the sink where Raven was scrubbing away at a wine glass.

"It's a space station."

"What?"

"The Watchtower is a space station, not a space ship," she said, concentrating more on washing the dishes than on the man standing next to her, "but yeah, it was good. Thank you."

"Hmm, just because you're quiet, people assume you're shy. But, you don't fool me. I've noticed, you've got kind of an attitude," he observed, leaning back against the counter. "In your own way, you make being all dark and snarky seem pretty charming."

Raven put down the plate she was rinsing and turned her face to look at the bandaged man. She wasn't embarrassed or angry, just exasperated. "Are you going to help me with these dishes or write my biography?"

This elicited a laugh from the radioactive hero. He raised one of his hands, waggling the bandaged fingers, "Dishes aren't my thing. Soapy water isn't good for the wrappings." When Raven went back to washing, he continued on his previous train of thought, "But that's a prime example of the 'tude I'm referring to. All sarcastic and grumpy. Eh, I can see why Gar took such a liking to you, though. We Doom Patrol men always seem to fall for women with a certain type of biting charisma."

Raven glared without turning her head.

"Okay, okay, I'm going to go put away the leftovers," He said the smile coming through in his voice even if his face was hard to read, throwing his hands up in surrender. "Jeez, kid."

Without the distraction of Negative Man's good-natured hassling, Raven was able to finish rinsing the dishes and placing them in the Dayton's state of the art dishwasher in record time. While Raven wasn't good at cooking, she did have a bit of a knack for cleaning up. She looked out of the window above the sink and watched Robotman cleaning the grill for a moment before turning to Negative Man, who was busying himself with putting away the spices and seasonings he'd left scattered around the kitchen during the cooking process. As she dried her hands on a dishtowel, she couldn't help but try to imagine a normal dinner at the Dayton Manor. Perhaps, Gar was the one who usually did the dishes.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey! Sorry I took a while with this update. Life has been hectic. I hope you like it! This chapter is kind of light on Beast Boy stuff, but the next chapter has another flashback in it, so... yeah!

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It had been a week and a half since Raven had come to the Dayton manor. A week and a half of worrying, a week and a half of searching for clues, and a week and a half of awkward meal times with the Doom Patrol. Despite herself, she was falling into a routine… but even though she was slightly more comfortable with her role in the investigation and in the Dayton household, there was still an overwhelming sense of uneasiness that pervaded the whole mansion. They still hadn't found any traces of Brain, Mallah, and Jinx… or any hint at what had happened to Gar.

The pale girl sighed. After a long day of searching through a completely empty patch of forest, Raven was spending a rare moment alone in the med wing with Gar. She wasn't one of those people who felt it necessary to talk to people who were in a coma, especially since she couldn't sense any aura coming off of him at all… so instead she sat beside him in silence, reading a book she'd borrowed from Mento's library, holding his hand. This wasn't so much for his sake, since she doubted he could feel it, but there was something comforting about feeling his hand in hers. She rubbed her thumb in absentminded circles over the back of his hand.

"Raven," the voice coming from the hallway caused her to jump. She turned to the doorway to see Mento entering the room. He was in full costume, short of his helmet, and looked tired. She knew he'd been working himself too hard and probably wearing his brain-enhancing helmet a little too often, but it wasn't her place to step in and tell him how to live his life. "You have a call."

Raven closed her book and let go of Gar's hand, giving it one last squeeze. "A phone call?" She kept in contact with Cyborg through texting on her communicator… and it wasn't like she had any civilian friends or family…

"Not quite," Steve said, gesturing for the girl to follow him. He didn't divulge any more information on the walk from the med bay to his study; he simply pushed the door open and waited for her to enter the room before closing it again. Alone, in the dark office, Raven's attention was directed toward the large glowing screen that grew out of the desk and to the cowled man who's image was displayed upon it.

"Batman," she said, trying not to let any of her shock come through in her voice. She straightened her shoulders and approached the screen, seeing her own image grow larger in the box in the corner of the screen of the video chat. All she could see behind Batman was darkness, but she assumed he was in the Batcave.

The man on the other side had been typing something, but he finished and looked up at the girl addressing him. His face was stoic, as always. "Raven, You're needed at the Watchtower."

The simplicity of what he said and the abrupt nature of it gave her pause. She pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, "Excuse me?"

"You're needed at the Watchtower. Klarion has hexed a high school in Metropolis. We have Zatanna working on it, but she needs some help decoding a few magical texts," he said, his expression unchanged. "That is your specialty."

She stood there blankly for a moment, looking at the white spots on Batman's mask that covered his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I'm needed here."

"I understand your obligations to Beast Boy," the Dark Knight began, "but, last time I checked you were still a member of the Justice League."

"I am, sir," she said, a little bit of an edge on her voice, "but I need to be here."

"I know you don't want to leave your… friend in this condition, but you have responsibilities. When you joined the League, you became part of something bigger than yourself and bigger than the Titans. You've been at Dayton Manor watching over Mr. Logan for 11 days now. It's time you get back to work," He paused, and when she didn't respond, he continued, "It was a big decision to let you in the League as it is, with the nature and origins of your powers, but I was sure that your track record and good reputation with the Titans was a sign that you were ready for this responsibility."

Raven could feel her powers welling up inside her, like a knot in her throat, but she swallowed and forced them down. She wetted her lips with her tongue and lowered her gaze. "Sir… I know that you might have problems with me being a half demon… but don't act like you'd do anything differently if you were in my shoes."

The man swallowed, obviously not used to being talked back to. "Raven, I'm not asking you to report to the Watchtower. It's an order."

She raised her violet orbs to meet Batman's once again. She was not one who was good at taking orders, especially from people who fancied themselves father figures. "With all due respect sir, I know that if Dick or Tim or any of your protégés were in a coma, you wouldn't stop searching for a cure until you'd found it… and if you couldn't find a cure, you'd be hunting down the person responsible." She did her best to keep her voice from rising, but her hands were in fists, nails digging into her palms. "I don't take my responsibilities with the League lightly, but if there's one thing I've learned from being a Titan… and from knowing your sons… it's that's family comes first."

The masked man was silent for a moment, but then nodded his head slowly, in the way that angry men sometimes do. "Alright," he said, gruffly, "At your earliest convenience, you will report to the Watchtower and assist Zatanna with her research. And when you're there you arrange for an extended leave of absence so that when you have completed said research, you may return to the Doom Patrol to aid in their efforts."

The girl nodded in return, "Understood, sir."

She turned to leave, but was caught off guard by Batman speaking her name, "And Raven." She turned. On the screen, he was sitting back in his chair, his posture no longer defensive or offensive. "If there's anything I can do… to help Beast Boy…"

She nodded, and the screen before her faded to black, before returning to the documents that Steve must have been going over before he was interrupted by the call. Raven let go of her tension with a sigh, opening the door of Mento's study to find Mento himself, sitting on a wooden bench near a window in the hall.

The graying man turned to her, a slightly worried look on his face. He stood up and straightened his uniform. He didn't speak, but there was something about his manner that was asking Raven a question.

She began, hesitantly, "I'm… needed back at the Watchtower. I'm not sure for how long." Mento nodded, and Raven took it as a sign to continue talking. She wasn't one for over sharing, but she felt she owed it to the man to fully explain the situation. "I'll be back. I just have to help with a research thing… I'll be back."

"Good," the man said, tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder. In her time there, she hadn't really spoken to Mento or Elasti-girl outside of their team meetings. She tended to hold her tongue at dinner. She was a little surprised by his sudden contact, but… it was welcomed. It felt unsure and new… but warm. "You're always welcome here, Raven… and your help is very appreciated."

"I'm… I'm not going to… say good bye… to anyone," Raven began, wishing her hood was up, feeling color rising to her cheeks. She wasn't good at this sort of thing; everyone who knew her knew that. "Like I said, I'll be back… so I don't have to say good bye. You'll tell them… that I'm coming back."

Mento smiled knowingly, patting her back twice before withdrawing his hand. "I'll pass it along." Raven took a step away, turning to face the man. He looked tired and older than she remembered… but oddly kinder than she remembered too. His lopsided and sad smile drew up a fondness in Raven and she found her face mimicking the expression. "Don't get yourself in too much trouble with the bigman, okay?"

Raven nodded a final nod, before teleporting herself out of the Dayton manor and into Titans Tower. She could teleport all the way to the Watchtower if she wanted to, but it had been a long day and soul self travel was draining. Instead, she chose to take the emergency teleported in the Tower's basement. Luckily, she didn't run into any of the Titans, but she wondered if she'd be getting a confused call later when Tim reviewed the security logs.

It was mere seconds before she found herself stepping out into the transporter room of the Watchtower. She had almost forgotten how the artificial gravity felt slightly different from real gravity… how the air tasted cleaner, but colder. She crossed the room to the com panel on the wall. "Locate Zatanna."

The computer voice responded, "Library, research room 1."

The young woman pulled her hood up to obscure her face and started out into the bright and winding halls. One of the things she'd liked about the Watchtower when she'd moved there was the anonymity. The base was always full of heroes, many of them coming from strange backgrounds. When you're one of five heroes in a city full of normal people, your purple hair and pale skin are going to turn some heads in the super market… but when you're in outer space, surrounded by aliens, wizards, synthetic beings, gods, and caped crusaders… suddenly being a half demon isn't that strange. There was safety in numbers.

But today, she wasn't feeling so anonymous. Every turn she took, she felt like there was another set of eyes on her. People who didn't normally even look at her in the halls were going out of their way to say hello with sad smiles… and people who usually would try to get her to stop and chat were avoiding making eye contact. She was beginning to wonder what had happened when she was gone, when she felt a strong hand on her arm, grabbing her so suddenly that she jumped.

"Raven!" Wally said, a little too eager. Kid Flash had been another former Titan to be recruited to the Justice League. The two of them were often paired off on missions and she considered him a friend. His goofy smile upon first seeing her, faded to a more somber expression, "How's Gar?"

"He's… stable," she breathed. The strange looks and odd auras she was picking up on were making more sense now. Everyone was torn between wanting to give her condolences and wanting to ask her questions about Gar. People already considered her to be dark, but now they were either looking at her like she was widow or an angel of death.

She continued walking, Wally very close on her heels. There was no way to avoid the speedster if he felt a conversation was unfinished. "And how are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? This must be a lot for you… and you're not exactly like, queen of emotional stability," Wally teased, wiggling his fingers as he spoke. Even though he was being inappropriate, as per usual, she could he was genuinely concerned.

She shot him a look, "I'm… not happy."

"Well, that's not new," he snorted, but then as soon as his smile had appeared, it faded into a frown. It had taken Raven a while to get used to Kid Flash's rapidly changing emotions, but everything was quick with him. His brain was sometimes too fast for his own good. Without warning, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, right there in the hallway. "Oh, Raven. I'm here for you, okay? We're gonna get through this. It's gonna be okay. If you need me, I'm right here and you can talk to me anytime you want. I know you're not a big talker, but I'm an excellent listener and actually a pretty compassionate guy and you're a greatgirlandgarissoluckytohavesomeonewhocaresabout himandit'llbeokay-"

Wally was usually a fast talker, but his voice was going so quickly that Raven could hardly understand him… but she didn't think the words were really that important, she understood what he meant. "Umm… thanks," she said, patting him on the back awkwardly until he released her from his death grip hug.

"Okay, just wanted you to know," he said with a swift nod. He pointed with over his shoulder with his thumb, "I gotta get back to what I was doing. I might have disappeared out of a tactical meeting when I heard you were back on the base."

"News travels fast."

"But I travel faster," he said with a wink before running back in the direction he'd come from, just a blur.

She rolled her eyes but a slight smile graced her lips, glad to have friends… and a little insight into why everyone was acting so curiously when they saw her. She made her way to the library as inconspicuously as possible and was glad that Zatanna didn't make a big deal when she got there.

"Hey Raven," was the only greeting she gave before explaining the spell they were researching. The two women spent most of the night pouring over ancient texts and translating ruins. It wasn't until Raven was yawning at least once every ten minutes and leaning her head heavily on her hand that Zatanna spoke of something other than spells and magic, "Raven, maybe you should go rest, you're on earth time, not Watchtower time… You'll be able to work quicker if you're rested. How about we start again after breakfast?"

The hooded woman nodded, "You're right. Thanks." She put a bookmark in the page she was reading and rose from the table. "I'll see you in the morning, then."

Raven felt like she was dragging her feet back to her room. She had been up since sunrise that morning, searching with the doom patrol, and then spent what felt like an entire second day researching here at the Watchtower. She had no way of knowing what time it was exactly, since the halls were always full of artificial light and if she looked out a window, she'd only be met by the inky, speckled darkness of space. However, judging by the fact that there were much fewer people roaming the halls than when she first arrived, it was getting pretty late. She let her feet guide her to her room, by rote. When she reached the door to her quarters, she keyed in her pass code, the same one she'd had to her room in the tower. She wasn't expecting that when the door swooshed open, there would be someone already inside. If it weren't for the familiar aura washing over her, she would have been alarmed, but as it was, the presence was comforting.

Cyborg was sitting in the armchair near her desk, looking a little too big for the seat. He was leaning back, as if he was dozing off a little, but the sound of the door had woken him up. "Rae…" he said, his eyes meeting hers. He opened his mouth again, probably going to explain why he was in her room, but before he could, Raven burst into tears, sending all of the things on her desk scattering to the floor in a burst of dark energy.

Cyborg leapt from where he was seated and rushed across the floor, taking Raven into a tight hug. Raven hadn't cried once since she heard about Gar. She'd been strong, stoic even. But… there was something about seeing her old friend that caused all of those repressed emotions to bubble to the surface. It was easy not to cry in front of strangers, the fear of embarrassment aided by a healthy dose of pride made sure of that. It was comfort that drew tears from her. The warm safety of her own room and the sight of one of her oldest, dearest friends were enough to put massive chinks in this emotional armor the dark girl had built up around her. Hearing her old nick name, the one that only two people in the whole world called her, was enough to make her crumble.

She was crying so hard, that she didn't even notice as Cyborg led her to the bed and sat down. In his arms, she felt so small, and it reminded her of being a child. She was practically a child when she and Cyborg had first met. She had been barely 14 at the time, and short for her age… and there he was, the same size he is now. A football linebacker made of steel. For a second she had been scared… until she saw his good eye and the kindness in it… and that smile. How could anyone be afraid of that face? She'd been won over, instantly. He was the first friend she'd ever had and before long, he was like a brother to her. He was the only one who had always believed in her, even if her other friends had a momentary lapse. Even though people often thought of Raven as highly self sufficient, she would never deny that without Cyborg she'd be lost. She wrapped her thin arms around his neck, resting her forehead against the cool metal of his shoulder. He tears subsided in heavy breaths.

"Oh, Victor…"

He rubbed her back with one of his large hands. "It's okay, Rae. It's okay." She could sense his emotions, picking up on a lot of worry… but there was some faith there too. He believed what he was saying.

She stayed in his embrace a while longer, letting herself be comforted by his bright, familiar aura and the equally familiar spicy smell of his cologne. If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine they were teenagers again, in his garage at the Tower. But there was no use in imagining something so far from the truth.

After a final squeeze, she withdrew, and shifted off of his lap and onto the bed. She drew her palms across her cheeks in a vain attempt to dry them, gave up, and ran her hands through her short hair.

"Gar..." Cyborg asked, in a cryptic but understood question. After receiving a nod from Raven, confirming his best friend was in stable condition, the metallic hero rose from the bed and began picking up the things that had been displaced during Raven's outburst. He, like the other former Titans, had gotten used to things moving and breaking around the Tower whenever a particularly strong emotion overtook the half demon. He was putting Raven's pens back into the cup they were usually stored in on her desk and restacking her books. "I've been trying to finish up here so I can come down and visit… but Bats has been keeping me on pretty strict assignment."

"Yeah, he can be pretty persuasive with those orders of his," she breathed, lying down on her bed. "You're not missing much… he hasn't so much as twitched."

Cyborg finished righting Raven's strewn trinkets, and resumed his seat in her armchair. "I'd still like to see him. I can't even remember the last time…"

After the semi-robotic man's voice trailed off, the pair sat in silence for a long time, both undoubtedly thinking about their past discrepancies. While Raven and Cyborg saw each other on an almost daily basis, the girl had been lacking in her correspondences with her other friends… and she knew the case was the same for Cyborg. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Kori… or even spoken to her on the phone. And she only saw Dick when he's at the Watchtower on business. The last time she'd spoken to Gar had been 3 months ago, when she called to wish him a happy birthday. What if her last words to him were her saying she had to get back to work?

Raven felt like she was about to cry again, when a large metal hand wrapped itself around hers. She turned her head to see Cyborg watching her with a sad smile. "He's gonna be alright," he said, sounding tired. Raven nodded, her cheek against the pillow, and tangled her fingers with his. Even if things had changed since the Titans were kids, and they didn't talk everyday or have movie nights and beach outings on the weekends… they were still family. She still loved every single one of her friends and knew for certain that they loved her too. And Cyborg was right, Gar was going to be alright. She was going to make damned sure he was going to be alright.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Hello again! This chapter is kind of uneventful, but contains some fluff. Probably the most light hearted chapter so far? But don't get used to it, the next chapter isn't so happy. But the next chapter at least starts to get into the main conflict that will eventually bring a resolution to the story, so there's that! We're getting closer!

* * *

It was a good thing Cyborg had convinced Raven to eat a big breakfast that morning, because she had skipped lunch and it looked like she'd be skipping dinner too. Raven had been back in the Watchtower for two days now and was almost done with the research assignment. She had already discovered what type of spell Klarion had used… it was just a matter of isolating the exact one and looking up the reversal. She figured, if she stayed up all night working and didn't take any breaks, with a bit of luck, she might be done by morning. Zatanna was hunched over the table across from her, translating something into a notebook. The other woman was putting in almost as much time as Raven was. This was probably because no one really liked thinking about the hundred and something east Gotham high school students who had been cursed into an enchanted sleep by Klarion… but, Raven could only assume that it was also partially because she knew about her situation.

The other magic user paused for a moment. "Eseehc seirf," she mumbled under her breath, then added, "teid ados." A plate of curly fries, smothered in yellow melted cheese and a can of diet soda with a bendy straw appeared from thin air onto the table between them. Zatanna quickly popped two of the fries into her mouth before looking up at Raven, "Want something?"

Raven could easily conjure herself something, but due to the dark nature of her powers, she was usually hesitant about using magic for something so frivolous. But far be it for her to judge the other magic user. She was about to answer with a polite decline, when she felt a breeze brush past her, blowing her short hair into her face. Since there was no wind inside the space station, Raven knew exactly what this rush of air meant.

She righted her bangs, and glanced to her left, confirming her suspicion. "Hello, Wally," she said with a sigh, which was met with a wide grin from the speedster. He set down a metal tray from the cafeteria. On it was an apple, a bowl of pasta, and a slice of cheesecake.

"Thought you could use a little brain food. I'm not gonna let everyone's favorite hell spawn go hungry," Kid Flash said, with a smirk, leaning against the library table with one hand and placing the other on his hip. Raven was about to thank him when his confident stance shifted suddenly; everything was sudden with Wally, to one of surprise, "Oh, crap. I almost forgot."

The red head disappeared, only to reappear in the exact same spot, seconds later, holding a disposable cardboard coffee cup. "Peppermint Roobis with two sugars." He placed the cup in front of her, seeming pleased with himself.

She allowed a small smile to cross her face, picking up the tea and smelling it, but not taking a sip, as it was still too hot for her liking. "Thanks."

He sat down next to her and picked up her notebook, and stared at it with furrowed brows. Wally was nosey, and Raven had gotten used to him taking books out of her hands, speed reading them, and then handing them back to her. But this time he wasn't flipping rapidly through the pages, eyes moving so quickly that she couldn't tell where he was looking. He was scanning with precision. "What's it mean?"

"They're ruins," Zatanna answered for her, the pointed expression on her face making it clear that she didn't like being ignored.

Wally smiled his signature boyish grin, "Hey, Zat. What's up?"

The magician took a long sip of her soda and shook her head, annoyed, before looking back down at the book she was reading.

Raven took the fork off of the tray and ate a few mouthfuls of the pasta. She found that as soon as she had a little food in her stomach, that she was hungrier than she had originally anticipated and ended up eating everything her friend had brought her. She ignored Wally and Zatanna as they bickered.

"Wow, someone was hungry," Wally teased as he looked over at Raven's now empty tray. "Want me to bring you seconds?"

Raven blushed slightly at his teasing and shook her head. "No, I'm fine... Thank you." She went back to her work, reading the old spell book in front of her, scanning for anything that could have to do with the curse Klarion had used.

After a moment, she felt a thin arm drape over her shoulder. "So, earlier today I was on this mission with Aquaman and you will NOT believe what the dude said. We're, like, trying to catch this big like… swamp monster who is just like, knocking over all of these barrels and junk and I'm running and trying to corner him and then all of a sudden, Aquaman just gets on top of this box and says-"

"Wally," She stopped him with a warning tone, "I'm working." She used her magic to remove his arm and pull the hood of her cloak up.

The ginger haired hero stood, picking up the cafeteria tray, "Okay, Okay. The hood is up. I understand when I'm not wanted." He turned to leave, before stopping again, "Oh yeah. J'onn said to bring you this."

He pulled two folded pieces of paper from his pocket and put them on the table in front of her. They were wrinkled, but the type was still clear. They were the leave of absence papers that she'd briefly discussed with Batman. The terms were fairly simple, stating the reason for Raven's leave from the team as well at the duration, which had been listed as 'as long as needed, but terms will be renegotiated after a year of absence.' Raven certainly hoped that she wouldn't need a full year… but she was glad that Batman and Martian Manhunter were willing to give it to her. There was another clause about how Raven could be called back into active duty in the case of a war or if it became clear that her powers would be instrumental to the safety of Earth… which she doubted would happen anytime soon. All in all, the terms were very reasonable and forgiving. She signed and dated the forms and handed them back to Wally, "Would you mind-"

"Running these back to J'onn?" He took the papers and shoved them messily back in his pocket with his free hand, "You got it. See you ladies, later," He said, waving to Zatanna and then looking down at Raven with a soft smile. "If you ever need to get in touch, you know I'll be there in… well, it depends on where you're calling me from, but I'd say probably under five minutes, give or take."

She nodded, peeking up at him from the shadows of her hood. "Thanks."

After he left, Zatanna shook her head again. "I'm glad I was never a Titan. You guys are all so clingy. Everyone says you're the loner of the group, but I swear we can't go for more than a few hours without either Cyborg or Kid Flash bursting in here to check on you."

Raven knew that Zatanna's criticism was a playful one… and she could even detect a little jealousy in her aura… but she decided to ignore the comment and continue her work, slowly sipping the warm and flavorful tea.

Neither woman spoke for a long time, until finally something Raven was reading caught her eye. She sat up a little straighter, grabbing a newspaper clipping about the Klarion incident and comparing the description of the spell to the one in the book she was reading. "Zatanna, I found something."

The other girl looked up, a little shocked at first, but then rose from her chair and joined Raven on the other side of the table. "What is it?"

"Here," Raven pointed out a line on the yellowed page. "I think this is a variation of the spell Klarion used."

The magician leaned over Raven's shoulder, carefully reading the spell before nodding in agreement, "You're right! That would mean the spell is Nordic. That really narrows down our search. Cidron lleps skoob ereh." Zatanna said, tapping a spot on the table. Raven watched as some of the books from the piles on the table removed themselves and floated toward the other woman, forming a neat stack before her. They searched through the books together and only an hour later found the exact curse used by the Witch Boy and the spell they could use to reverse it.

"Awesome!" Zatanna marked the page in the book with a folded piece of notebook paper before crossing the room to the COM panel. "Computer, locate Batman."

"Batman is not on in the Watchtower. Would you like to call Batman's communicator?" the computer voice queried, but the magician didn't respond. Instead she turned to Raven.

"He's probably in Gotham. How about we go call him on the tele-screen and tell him about our findings?" Zatanna asked, a smile on her face.

Raven rose from her chair and considered the question. She was still a little miffed from her argument with the Dark Knight last time they spoke… and in all honesty, she wanted to get a little shut eye. "I think I'll sit this one out," she answered in her usual level tone, trying not to seem rude. "I'm going to be in my room if you need me… but I'm leaving in the morning."

Zatanna seemed a little taken a back, but just strugged. "Okay, then."

The two of them left the library together but then walked in different directions in the hallway. Raven walked slowly toward her room, semi hoping she'd run into Cyborg… but he must have already been in bed. She would have to catch breakfast with him in the morning before she left for Dayton Manor again.

When she reached her room, she sat down on her bed with a sigh, removing her cloak and shoes. She grabbed her backpack from it's hook in the closet and began filling it with fresh leotards, extra gloves, pajamas and other things she felt she would need for her extended stay at Doom Patrol Head Quarters. She checked her shelves for any books she thought she might like to bring and even decided to allow herself to bring some personal items. She packed a few pictures of her and her friends, a tiny plastic model of Titan's Tower the city had sold as a fundraiser one year, and a Christmas ornament that Starfire had bought for her that was so nice she couldn't bear to put it away… even though it was nowhere near Christmas. It was then, unhooking the ribbon that held the ornament to the top of her bookshelf, that her fingers brushed against something soft. After placing the ornament neatly in her bag, she returned to her shelf and stood on tiptoes to reach the object, knowing full well what it was before it entered her line of vision.

A cheaply made stuffed animal dog, with bright green fur and a dopey smile. She brushed the dust off of it as she made her way back to her bed, sitting down with the toy in her lap facing her. The character was from some children's show that had been popular 5 years ago, that was about a bunch of rainbow colored animals who taught children about friendship. She didn't have the toy because she was a fan of the show, though; in fact she was pretty sure she'd never seen an episode. The toy was just one of the many cheap boardwalk plushes that Gar had won her during their time as Titans. Each summer, the team would spend at least one of their days off at the shore, and since they could go swimming anytime they wanted at home, these mini vacations usually revolved around the ride pier, the snack bar, and of course the arcade and carnival style games. Most years, the changeling would set his sites on winning the largest and most ridiculous toy, which he would then give to Raven who would begrudgingly carry it around for the rest of the night, and maybe keep it for a week, before either putting it into storage or pawning it off on Timmy, Melvin, and Teether. But this time had been different. She closed her eyes and slipped into a semi meditative trance as she remembered.

She was nearly 17, wearing a pair of jeans with holes in the knees, black sneakers, and a slate blue tank top which was light enough to keep her cool under the summer sun, but large and loose enough that she wasn't self-conscious. The smell of the ocean rushed her senses, along with the ample amounts of sunscreen she'd applied to her pale face and shoulders. The team had split up some hours ago, Gar and Victor running off in the direction of the rickety old wooden roller coaster as soon as they got out of the T-car… while Star, Robin, and Raven had opted to start the day off with some ice cream. The team leader and the empath allowed themselves to be dragged from attraction to attraction for most of the day, Starfire barely able to contain her excitement over every small facet of the boardwalk. It had been a nice day so far, but Raven was beginning to feel a bit like a third wheel. She sat in the small booth across from Robin and Star, who were at this point officially a couple, and sipped her milkshake as they finished up their late lunch. When Star expressed an interest in going to the small aquarium at the end of the boardwalk, Raven took her chance to excuse herself.

"I think I'll sit that one out, not too big on fish," Raven said, eating the last cheese fry from her plate. She knew that Star would change her plans in an attempt to be inclusive, but she really did want to give the couple some alone time. She quickly added, "I think I saw a thrift store when we were pulling into the parking lot, I'm gonna go check that out and see if they have any used books."

"Alright, Raven," Robin was quick to accept this new plan that involved him being alone in a dimly lit aquarium with the beautiful alien princess. "I have my communicator if you want to meet up after."

The teen nodded, throwing out the paper plate and empty cup from her meal and headed back out onto the boardwalk. She really had seen a thrift store, but she was in no big rush to get there. She shoved her hands into pockets and sat down on one of the wooden benches that looked out over the beach. Children ran and played, mothers read murder mystery and romance novels on their beach blankets, teens looked for excuses to bump against each other in the waves. The happiness radiating off of the other vacationers was contagious, and Raven found a small smile on her lips. She was broken out of this calm contentment when she heard a familiar voice call her name.

It was none other than Beast Boy jogging toward her in his bare feet, red and white hibiscus patterned board shorts, and the t-shirt he'd gotten for participating in some tofu dog eating contest that fourth of July. This was before she and Beast Boy were dating, so his presence elicited and eye roll from the teen. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy his company, she considered him a good friend, but she still played the part of the annoyed teammate out of habit. It was safer that way, pretending she couldn't stand him… though he never really seemed to notice. Despite her insults and jibes, he was always beyond friendly toward her. He made sure she was involved in group activities and tried his best to spend alone time hanging out with her as well… when she would allow it. Some of his actions could even be construed as flirting, though Raven never took any of it too seriously, considering he hit on most girls, including just about every female Titan. When she was completely honest with herself, she had grown to expect and enjoy his attention… but she was at an age where she was rarely completely honest with herself…

It wasn't until he plopped down on the bench next to her that she noticed Gar had something in his arms. He was clutching a something bundled in a beach towel to his chest, bouncing it slightly and gently hushing and cooing at it. "Shh, shhh, it's alright, little guy," he said, his voice low and his face close to the bundle, before looking up and grinning at Raven casually, "Hey, Rae, what's up?"

She didn't answer for a moment, looking from his grinning face down to the beach towel covered lump he was rocking in his arms. "What are you doing? And what is that?"

"Raven, Raven, Raven," he made a tutting noise in disapproval. "What sort of mother doesn't recognize her own child?"

The girl narrowed her eyes, not sure where her friend was going with this, but pretty sure she didn't like it. "Let me see that," she demanded, reaching for the beach towel, only to have Gar turn, blocking her with one of his shoulders.

"He's not a 'that', he's a 'he'… isn't that right baby boy?" Gar corrected, finishing the second half of the sentence in a singsong voice. "I was thinking we could name him after my father… I mean, we could name him after your pops if you really wanted to, but little Trigon is probably gonna get shoved in a few lockers with a name like that. School kids can be cruel. Maybe we can save that for his middle name."

Raven was sure that Gar didn't have an actual baby, since there was no aura coming off of the pile of cloth in his arms… and because even he wouldn't steal someone's baby for a stupid joke… but knowing it wasn't a real baby didn't make her any less annoyed. "Cut it out, would you?"

Gar leaned his face closer to the little opening in the towel wrapping, where the babies head would be, and his eyes opened wide, "What's that, Mark? Oh! Your first word!" He turned his chest back toward her, holding the bundle out in her direction, "Well honey, I think the baby wants his momma."

She snatched the towel from him before he could pull it away again and hastily unwrapped it, revealing a green stuffed animal dog. Beast Boy wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, his eyes focused on the toy with mock affection, "He definitely has my nose, but he has his mother's eyes."

The girl elbowed him and pulled away, rising from the bench. She threw the towel back at her teammate, examining the dog. "How much money did you waste on crane games to get one of these?"

"For your information, I won him in that water gun game. Apparently, I have better eye-hand coordination than a group of grade school kids," He joked, throwing the towel over his shoulder with a confident nonchalance. She couldn't help but smile a little at the pride that was evident in his fanged grin. He noticed, of course, and his own smile widened. "Come on! Victor abandoned me to go chat up some girls and looks like Robin and Star let you alone to go make out in the fun house or something."

"Aquarium, actually," she corrected, causing the green teen to laugh.

"I still have some ride tickets, let's go ride something that spins until we feel sick," he said, linking arms with her and pulling her in the direction of the carnival like rides. They spent the rest of the afternoon together, working through Gar's left over ride tickets and even buying a few more so they could go on some rides twice. It seemed Gar had satisfied his jokester tendencies with the baby prank, and was a little calmer than usual. He still cracked jokes when he was given the opportunity, but mostly the two just talked as they waited in line for the rides or silently enjoyed each other's company… lost in the crowd, the two felt like they blended in… in the teeming mass of people that flitted around the board walk, they could have been any two teenagers. Raven felt so at ease, that she even shared a lemonade with Gar, not making a big deal about drinking from the same straw.

As the sun set, the two regrouped with the other Titans for a game of minigolf before heading home. No one commented on the green dog sticking out of Raven's tote bag or the fact that Raven allowed Gar into the force field bubble she put around herself when it started raining on the walk back to the car... but Cyborg couldn't keep himself from teasing them a little bit when they arrived in the tower garage and he had to lean over the center consol and into the back seat to wake them up. Beast Boy leaned against the door, Raven nestled against his chest… a stuffed animal dog wedged between them, grin stitched on its emerald face.

Raven exited her trance, her breath hitching in her throat for a moment before she sank back on her bed, clutching 'Mark Trigon Logan' to her chest.

The next morning, she ate breakfast with Cyborg just as she'd planned to her backpack already in tow as the two sat at one of the round tables in he cafeteria, drinking caffeinated beverages and picking at toasted bagels. Victor assured her that he'd be there as soon as he could to visit and agreed to say good-bye to Wally for her, since she knew he slept late and wouldn't be up in time to see her off. As she began her trip back to Dayton manner, she couldn't help but feel a little more hopeful than when she'd left… she had official leave from the Justice League, the promise of support from her friends at the Watchtower, and a small, green toy dog in her backpack. Things were looking up, right?

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As always, thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! This chapter is a little bit filler-y, but I hope you like it anyway.

As always, I'd like to thank everyone who commented. Your encouraging words make writing so much more rewarding!

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Raven arrived at the Dayton Manor around 10 that morning, the large home looking completely vacant from the outside. She knocked three times on the door, but received no answer. Robotman and Negative Man were probably already out on assignment for the day… and Mento and Rita were probably somewhere in the house doing research. She paused for a moment before deciding it was okay for her to phase through the door and let herself in.

She walked lightly through the empty halls and staircases, peering through every empty door for signs of the team, but finding none. Her first stop was the Med Bay, her voice emitting a tiny, "Hey…" as her eyed landed on Beast Boy's face, even though she knew she could expect no answer. She brushed his dark bangs from his forehead and even though she felt silly talking to someone whom she knew couldn't hear her, she continued, "I missed you. And… Vic sends his love… he's coming to visit, soon." Her eyes stayed locked on his face for a moment, her hand hovering over his forehead… but he wasn't there, and she knew it.

When she got to the door to the guest room where she had been staying, she tossed her bag in, letting it land with a light thud on the bed before continuing down the hallway to Gar's bedroom. She hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open and entering. The curtains were open and the room was bright with mid morning sunlight. Everything looked at if Gar had just been in there and she wondered if anyone had come in here since he'd been injured… if they had, they certainly hadn't changed anything… and to be honest Raven couldn't blame them. The messy bed and empty can of soda on the night stand were comforting, it made it feel like Gar had just gotten up to get a snack or answer the phone and would be back any moment.

Not much had changed since last time she'd seen the room, years ago. There was still a shelf full of animal figurines toys, some looking slightly chewed upon. There were stacks on comic books on the desk, a pile of dirty clothes in the corner, posters of girls from video games taped to the walls… it was all so familiar. She could feel remnants of his aura lingering in this space. All of his personal possessions had been left with an imprint from his essence and she allowed herself to bask in the familiar warmth.

It wasn't until she sat down on the messy bed, that she noticed the bulletin board above his crowded desk. Curious, she approached the large corkboard which was spilling over with the bits of paper and photos that had been pinned to it. There was a picture of the Doom Patrol where a tiny Beast Boy was standing proudly between Rita and Steve, barely making it to Rita's shoulder even though he was standing as tall as possible. There was a picture of the Teen Titans from when they first started out, Beast Boy still scrawny enough that he could climb onto Cyborg's shoulders. There were so many polaroids and print outs and newspaper clippings that Raven's eyes didn't know where to look… until eventually her eyes fell on an image of herself. Her hood was up, but a visible blush was creeping onto her cheeks, in the bottom of the frame there was a blur of her hand pushing the camera away. A picture of her and Beast Boy dressed up in their winter clothes back when her hair was long, a picture of the two of them wearing each other's costumes after they lost a bet to Cyborg, one that Raven didn't even know existed of herself sleeping on the tower's sofa with a book open on her chest and Cyborg and Beast Boy standing behind her making funny faces… and more. There was a photo strip that ended with the two of them kissing and various movie tickets pinned to the board as well, but that wasn't all. Much to Raven's surprise, there was a recent clipping from the Jump City Gazette that featured a picture of Raven helping a civilian away from a fire… and another one of her and Kid Flash looking a little worse for the wear after a battle, but still smiling for the camera, with a head line that read 'Promising New Justice League Members'. These were from after they'd broken up and the second one was even from after they'd both left the Titans.

She something inside her swelling up and threatening to spill, but before she could process her thoughts, a voice spoke from the door way and she turned to face the speaker. "What are you doing here?"

Raven took a step forward and then paused, "I… wanted to see his room." She admitted, her eyes lowering, unable to meet Rita's.

"That's not what I mean," the older woman said, her voice low but soft. "I don't mean what are you doing in here, I mean what are you doing back in the Manor?"

"When no one answered, I let myself in," Raven said, feeling like a child in trouble, "I'm sorry."

Rita shook her head, "It's fine…. That's still not what I mean." The Doom Patroller entered the room completely, her manner and gestures hard to read… her emotions guarded. "I mean why did you come back? Steve said you were called back to the Justice League."

It took Raven a moment to find her voice, but when she spoke it sounded more confident than she expected. "I came back to help. To help Gar."

"You could have a future at the League. A bright future. I don't want you messing that up because you feel obligated to trounce through the woods looking for a gorilla and a disembodied brain for my son's sake," Rita spoke with a practiced indifference that seemed very forced, especially since Raven could feel the emotions coming off of her in waves. "I'm very thankful that you want to help, but you should go back to the Watchtower and keep your spot at the League. Steve can call you if we need you."

Raven's heart sank at the thought of leaving now. How could she live with herself knowing that she wasn't doing all she could to help save her friend? She swallowed hard and spoke quietly, pulling her hood up over her face, "I'll leave the manor if you want me to, Mrs. Dayton… but I'm not going back to the Justice League, not until Garfield is alright. If you don't want me in your home or on your team, I'll get an apartment in town and keep looking on my own… But I'm not leaving Gar…"

Rita silently stepped past Raven, to the bulletin board, her fingers hovering over the many images there before eventually tracing the white plastic frame of a Polaroid containing a grinning Beast Boy and a sheepishly smiling Raven, cheeks pressed together in a bear hug… initiated by Gar, of course. "You can stay," the woman spoke with a shaky voice, eyes still scanning the pictures as her hands neatened a stack of magazines on the desk.

"Thank you," Raven answered, eyes downcast.

"He cares about you, too, you know," Rita spoke, her voice so low it almost escaped Raven's ears… but it didn't. Then in a louder voice, "Steve has news. You should go see him in his study."

Without another word, Raven left, feeling like a weight was lifting from her shoulders as she exited the room that was clouded by Rita's heavy aura. She felt out of breath and once she felt a safe distance from Beast Boy's room, she leaned against a wall and repeated her mantra to herself a few times. Once she felt collected, she continued through the manor until she reached the dark oak door of Mento's study, and knocked twice.

"Enter," he called, not looking up from his computer as Raven opened the door and came into the room. She stood behind him for a moment and waited until he finished what he was typing and looked up at her with a soft smile, "Raven, when did you get back?"

"Just a little while ago," she answered, returning his smile with one of her own. She remembered that when they were younger, Gar would complain about how strict and mean his father was. The man before her seemed serious… but as far as she could tell, not mean or cruel. She could imagine him being tough on Gar about some things and it wasn't hard to see them getting into disagreements, but he wasn't a bad father… she knew a thing or two about horrible dads. She paused for a moment, just watching Mento at his computer consol before speaking again, "Um, Rita said you had news?"

The man nodded and then gestured to the wooden chair that sat in the corner of the room. "Grab a seat." Once Raven had pulled the chair over and was settled next to the leader, he began speaking, pulling up slides on his computer. Raven wondered if these were from a team meeting that she'd missed. "There's been an incident in Sweden. The young heiress of an electronics company has suddenly fallen ill. She's been examined by some of the best doctors in the world and they can find nothing physically wrong with her other than the mysterious coma. Sources say there was a ransom note. We're investigating tomorrow morning."

For a minute, Raven considered asking why they didn't just go and investigate now, while the trail was still warm… but then she realized it didn't make a difference. If it was Brain, Mallah, and Jinx, they'd be smart enough not to stick around too close after pulling something like this and they probably wouldn't return to the scene of the crime. All they could hope for was that they'd been sloppy enough to leave some evidence behind… and if not at least the ransom note was something.

"I'd appreciate it if you came along tomorrow," Mento said, closing down the slide show and bringing back up the file he was reading when she entered the room.

"Of course, sir…" Raven lingered, sitting there in the chair beside Mento, her hands folded on her lap. It was a moment before he looked up at here again.

"If you'd like, you can help me with my research today," he said, his voice calm, but not devoid of emotion. "It would be nice to have an extra mind going over things."

Raven was glad to have something to do and quickly dove into the work, reading documents about the case in Sweden and taking notes on anything that seemed peculiar. She spent the whole day like that, settled down at a small table across the room from Mento, pouring over a laptop, barely speaking to the man except for when he offered to get her a glass of water when he went to the kitchen to get one for himself. Gradually, the sun began to set outside the large wood framed window, and Raven wasn't too awfully surprised when the door to the office swung open without so much as a knock.

"Steve, how's the-" Negative Man was speaking as he entered the room, but stopped as soon as he saw her. "Raven! You're home!" She couldn't tell for sure if he was grinning, because of his bandages, but his voice was so cheerful that she didn't even bother to correct him about insinuating that Dayton Manor was her home. She rose from her chair and he stepped toward her, as if he was going in for a hug, but Raven tensed, and he stopped short and turned it into a hearty slap on the back. "But just look at you… What? They didn't feed you in outer space or something? Unless slowly wasting away to nothing is a new power of yours. And I bet Steve here didn't even make you a sandwich for lunch, did he?"

"I haven't been gone long enough to lose weight…" Raven said, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, how would you even tell… I'm wearing my cloak."

But her statement was ignored; as was the glare she shot him. "Steve, can I talk to you later? Right now, I think I ought to take Sunshine downstairs and cook her some dinner before she starves to death."

"That's fine," Mento said, barely looking up from his computer, apparently unphased by his teammate's antics. "Thanks for your help today, Raven."

She was going to say it was not a problem, but before she could even get the words out, Negative Man was dragging her into the hallway and toward the stairs. "Okay, Sunshine, what do you feel like? I'm thinking something carby and high in calories. Some good old fashioned comfort food."

While Raven was feeling hungry, she wasn't terribly fond of Negative Man's habit of feeding her as if he was her overbearing mother… nor was she fond of this new nickname. "Don't call me Sunshine."

"What ever you say, Princess," he teased, finally releasing her when they reached the kitchen. "Look what I found," he called into the room, causing Robotman to turn around.

"Raven," the metallic hero said warmly, putting down the newspaper he was scanning and coming over to greet her properly. Unlike Nagative Man, who stopped when he remembered Raven's personal space issues, he scooped the girl up in a hug that lifted her feet from the ground. She was used to receiving crazy hugs from giant robots, having gotten many from Cyborg over the course of her life, so she just held her breath and patted his back and waited to be returned to her previous standing position. "Good to have you back. I would say the place had been quiet without you, but considering you're about as loud as sleeping mouse… but it is good to have you back."

A small smile came to Raven's lips and she took a seat in the breakfast nook, Robotman rejoining her, and taking up his paper again and continuing to read. When he was done with the section he was on, he passed it across the table to Raven, who never really paid too much attention to the news, but she was grateful for the distraction. Negative Man set about cooking dinner, making a complete mess of the kitchen as he did so. It wasn't long before he had spices and ingredients spread out over the counter, a sink full of dirty dishes, and something mysterious baking in the oven. He put a few perishable things back in the fridge, but didn't seem to care about anything else as he stood with his hands at his hips at the end of the table. It took a cough to get Robotman and Raven to turn their attention to him.

"Alright, I'm gonna go rally the troops for dinner…" he announced. "How about you set the table while I'm gone, kiddo?"

Raven sighed, but rose from her seat nonetheless and headed over to the silverware drawer. She set out 5 places on the table and then started putting away the things that had been left on the counter, knowing that Mento probably wouldn't be too happy if he saw the mess. Even though it was much simpler to just eat in a cafeteria and dinners at the Dayton Manor were very awkward considering the circumstances… she honestly had missed the little things while she was away. It was always the little annoying things she missed the most when she was in the isolation of the Watchtower. It was things like unwanted nicknames and other people's messes that made someplace a home. It was stupid jokes and awkward hugs. Her mind drifted to Gar and her heart felt heavy… but before she could start feeling too emotional, Negative Man reentered the room, Mento and Elasti-girl in tow. Everyone settled down at the small table.

"Hope you're hungry… because I made way too much," Larry proclaimed, carrying a glass dish, looking sort of silly with oven mitts on over his uniform. He placed the dish down and began spooning out servings onto everyone's plates. "Mac and cheese with bacon. Made from scratch!"

To Raven's surprise, it was actually amazing… and just what she needed. She ate two servings as she listened in polite silence as the team discussed their plans for tomorrow. Occasionally she's look over to Rita, who was as silent as she was, but the other woman never looked up and met her gaze.

When dinner was done with, Raven helped with the dishes, and then decided to go for a walk. The grounds of the manor were large and well kept. She wandered through them until she happened upon a few large rocks near the river that ran to the east of the property. She sat down on the flat surface of one of the stones and assumed the lotus position. There was something about this spot that felt familiar… and when she closed her eyes to meditate, she realized that the feeling of rock beneath her and sound of running water reminded her of the rocks on the shore of the island that Titans Tower was on.

The Titans all had their "secret spots" in the Tower…. Though the spots were never really secret to their team members. Whenever Cyborg got upset, he'd storm down to the garage and sit inside the T-car and blast music on the stereo. Robin would go to the gym and practice karate katas in the large mirror there. Starfire rarely got upset, and being such a social butterfly, when she was worried about something she would usually just talk to Robin or Raven about it… but if she was REALLY upset, you could find her in the pool, just floating on her back in the clear water. Raven, herself, always headed to the roof when she needed to clear her head… and Beast Boy went to the shore of the island and threw rocks into the water. Whenever something bad happened to him, sure enough, you could look out the window in the living room and see him pacing around in the gravely sand or just laying around on the rocks. Raven could remember multiple occasions when she'd been sent to talk to him… because even before they were dating, she always seemed to get voted as the one who was best suited to calm the green titan down. She had good memories of times she'd successfully cheered him up, and sad memories of times when he was too down and all she could do was sit with him and stare out at the ocean… keeping him company through his grief.

As she meditated, she thought of the way the island seemed to quiet at night even though it was just across the bay from Jump City… and how the breeze near the water always felt cool even on the hottest days of summer… And how no matter how devastated Gar was feeling he always tried to greet her with a smile when she would sit beside him on the shore…

The empath nearly jumped out of her skin when her meditation was interrupted by someone plopping down beside her. Her head snapped to the side to see Negative Man with two mugs of tea, one held to his lips and the other extended in her direction.

She shook the frown off of her face from being snuck up on like that, and accepted the mug with a curt, "Thanks." There wasn't quite enough sugar in it, but it was good quality tea… and it was warm. "How'd you find me?"

"Hunch. This is Gar's thinking spot… and when you weren't in your room or in the infirmary… I dunno, call it intuition," the man said, finishing his gulp of tea. Raven could smell a harsh note in the air, and got the feeling that Negative Man's tea might have a little whiskey in it. "The kid always came here when he wanted to sulk… Speaking of sulking, how are you feeling?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could she was cut off, "And don't say you're fine. I'm asking how you're feeling and I want a real answer."

Raven shifted from her meditation pose to sitting with her legs bent in front of her, resting her arms on her knees. She considered lying, but saw no point in it. Especially not after what Negative Man just said. "I feel… shitty. I feel really shitty…" she spoke plainly, taking a gulp of her tea, almost wishing it were spiked like Negative Man's. "I miss him… and I'm worried."

She couldn't tell if it was because he reminded her of Beast Boy or because his powers were similar to hers or because she could tell he really did care… or just because she was really tired. Maybe it was a combination of various reasons, but when Negative Man didn't say anything, Raven felt compelled to continue. "I feel sad… and I feel angry. Angry at the people who did this to him… and angry at myself. Even a little bit angry with him for letting himself get hurt… but mostly angry at myself. He was one of the most important people in my life and I let him drift away from me and I stopped calling and now… Now I don't know if… things will be okay… and I might never… I might never get to talk to him again."

There was a silence, and Raven expected it to be filled with the bandaged hero reassuring her that everything was going to be okay and that Gar would wake up and things would go back to normal and maybe even be better than before… but instead, he just rubbed her shoulder for a second, giving it a tight squeeze with his gloved hand before standing up. He stretched his hand toward her, and she allowed him to pull her to her feet. "Come on, it's starting to get dark… the mosquitoes will eat you alive if you sit by the river at night."

She felt surprisingly okay as he led her back across the grounds to the house, in comfortable silence. She knew that if she had said any of those things to Cyborg… or even Robotman, she would have been a mess… but for some reason she felt… better. Being so frank and saying the things that had been running through her mind felt liberating. She worried for a moment that Negative Man might judge her harshly for what she'd said, but his aura radiated nothing but fondness… mingled with the same healthy dose of worry that surrounded everyone in the Dayton Manor.

When they were back inside the house, standing in the main hall, only then did he clear his throat and speak. "We all have things we wish we said to him. Don't beat yourself up too much about it."

Raven paused, and then, did something unexpected. Before either of them really knew what was happening, Raven's face was pressed into Negative Man's chest and her arms were wrapped tightly around him. She was giving him the hug she'd shied away from earlier. Once the shock of receiving affection from the girl with major boundaries issues wore off, the older hero rested his chin on the top of her head and returned the hug.

"Alright," he said after a moment with a slight laugh, "Come on, let's not get too sentimental. You should get up to bed anyway, we're leaving early tomorrow… and if the dark circles under your eyes get any bigger you're gonna look as bad as you feel, kiddo."

Raven pulled back from the hug with a sharp glare, "You're ruining this moment. We were bonding."

Negative Man laughed… what started off as a snicker but quickly grew into a chuckle. He playfully ruffled her short hair, leaving it a complete mess. "I'll see you in the morning, Sunshine."


	7. Chapter 7

Hey Everyone! This chapter is pretty sad. Which shouldn't surprise you by now, haha. But don't worry. There's like... 4 or 5 more sad chapters and then things perk up. There will be a happy ending, I promise!

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Raven clipped the small black communicator to her belt, right between the round yellow communicator she still carried from her Titan days and the sleek silver one from the Justice League. This new gadget was about the size of a cell phone and made out of matte black plastic. It opened to reveal a touch screen… but on the outside it only had a blinking light and a red inscription of "DP". Mento had given it to her that morning before she had teleported them to the scene of the attack. He had given it to her with a professional nonchalance, but she received a pat on the back from both Negative Man and Robotman. Elasti-girl was no where to be seen that morning, which Raven had come to expect, since she hadn't seen the woman leave the house since she'd arrived… much less accompany the team on a mission.

The mansion of the Swedish electronics mogul was big… maybe even bigger than the Dayton Manor, but Raven found that she didn't like it half as much. Where the interior of the Doom Partol home base was dark wood and cluttered with artifacts, books, and paintings… this place was sleek and white, minimal mixed with a classical influence that made the place feel regal but cold. Raven stayed close to the group as the entrepreneur lead them through his home and listened carefully as he explained the attack on his daughter to the best of his knowledge. He wasn't a very old man, but he had gone prematurely gray, from the stress of running such a successful and large company, she presumed. He was flanked by two young tan body guards in all black… and his wife, a small woman who looked beyond beautiful even though her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

When they reached his daughter's room, he grew silent for a moment. Raven looked at the girl in the bed. She could only have been a few years younger than Raven herself, probably a freshman in college. Her hair was long and pale blonde, her skin pale as well, but with a rosy glow on her cheeks and nose. She laid in bed, still as a statue, the only noise in the room coming from the state of the art machines that were attached to her and the shuffling of doctors and medical team monitoring them. The medical equipment looked even more strange in this girl's bedroom than it did in the medwing of the Dayton Manor. Some how, beeping heart rate monitors just didn't seem to go with the dainty pink floral curtains and framed Broadway musical posters.

Raven used her powers to search for the girl's mind, to see if any emotions or essences were housed in her motionless body, but there was nothing. She felt Mento's eyes on her and turned to him. She shook her head once and he frowned in return, showing that his helmet had come back with the same results. He went over to the machinery and examined the readings.

"It seems like your daughter has the same symptoms as…" Mento paused, apparently considering his next words. With a gravely voice, he said, "my son."

The man nodded in sad understanding. "That's why we called you. I had read in the paper about your boy…"

Ever the professional, Mento merely nodded. "You said over the phone there was a ransom note? Would you mind showing it to me?"

"Not at all, come this way," the man said, with a similarly calm yet strained voice. Raven couldn't help but think about how stress changes a person. Weather you were the head of a team of super heroes of the president of a corporation…

Her thoughts were broken by Mento's voice, "Larry, Cliff, you two go and search the patio, that's where the attack took place. Raven, I need you to interview some witnesses." The team nodded to the leader's orders and set to their tasks as soon as he left with the victim's father.

Raven approached the girl's mother, who was hovering near her daughter's bed. "Ma'am… I'm Raven, from the Justice League… I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions." When she was a Titan, it was never her job to speak to civilians, that was usually left to Starfire and Beast Boy… but she'd grown more used to it during her time with the League. When she was sent on missions, it was usually with Vic and Wally. Despite Cyborg's extremely gentle nature, he was still huge and partially made of metal, something that seemed to be unsettling to some people. And Wally, try as he may, was not very good at talking at a speed of under 400 words per minute, and it's hard to calm down a traumatized person when you sound like an auctioneer. Regardless of Raven's distaste for most social situations, she was the one who was best with civilians. Her calm voice and demeanor seemed to put people at ease and it didn't hurt that she could use her empathic abilities to help subconsciously sooth others.

The woman turned to her and nodded, "Yes, that would be fine." The mother led her to a small sitting room down the hall where they would not be disturbed or over heard and, with some prompting from Raven, described the scene on the day of the incident. Raven also questioned the maid who was on duty when it happened. Both women's testimonies pointed to exactly what everyone had suspected. Jinx and Mallah had burst in, incapacitated the guards, and done some sort of hex on the girl.

Raven was about to interrogate the security guards who Mallah had knocked out at the gatehouse, when her new communicator started blinking and beeping. She flipped it open and noise rushed her ears. It was Rita "Steve, Steve! You need to get here right now, Steve! It's Gar! Oh god, oh god… You need to come home!" She cried out over the sound of constant and high speed beeping. With the communicator still open, Raven ran through the halls until she saw Robotman. His communicator was open too, and the look on his face was as panicked as his metal features would allow. He grabbed her arm and began to pull her along through the halls, so fast that she gave up on running and just hovered, letting him drag her through the air. In the lobby, they saw Mento and Negative Man, explaining the situation in rushed tones to the electronics magnate, who seemed shocked, but understanding.

It took Mento saying her name twice for her to snap back to her senses and teleport everyone back to Dayton Manor, depositing them directly into the infirmary.

Machines were beeping wildly and as soon as they appeared, Rita rushed at her husband, pulling him toward the bed. "I don't know what's happening, all of a sudden everything started beeping and I don't know what to do!"

Mento wasted no time, turning his attention to the many monitors in the room, looking for the problem. Negative Man busied himself with checking wire connections to make sure nothing jogged loose.

The emotions in the room were overwhelming; it was all Raven could do to stay on her feet. Her eyes were fixed on Gar's form on the bed. Even though she was reciting her mantra under her breath, the curtains on the window were surrounded in black energy, rapidly opening and closing. There was also a chair mysteriously levitating three inches off the ground.

"Raven," Robotman called, touching her shoulder when he got no response. The physical contact caused her face to whip in his direction, eyes glowing for a split second before turning back to their regular violet. "Raven, honey," he was speaking slowly but not in a condescending way. "Can you do me a favor and take Rita out of the room. Steve said Gar's gonna be okay, but he needs to concentrate." He politely neglected to mention the tendrils of dark energy the girl was emitting, instead trying to draw Raven's attention to Rita.

The other woman was crying hysterically, clinging to Cliff's arm with one hand and helplessly alternating between clutching her heart, reaching toward Gar, and roughly running her fingers through her hair with the other. From Raven's perspective, Elasti-girl might as well have been an armed explosive. The room was already swirling with fear, worry, and panic... But this woman was like a physical manifestation of those emotions, amplified and concentrated. It was bad enough that Raven's own feelings were slipping away from her, but the empath didn't know if she could stand being so close to the panicked mother.

"Raven," Robotman said her name again, not really giving her any choice as he moved Rita closer to Raven. Not knowing what else she could do, she took the brunette by the arm and led her out of the room. Both of them were walking in a sort of joint autopilot until their feet led them to the kitchen.

Rita, still crying but no longer sobbing released Raven's arm and drifted toward the breakfast nook, sliding into one of the seats. Raven, feeling the need to keep busy, began preparing tea. It was silent for a while and it wasn't until both of them were sitting opposite each other across the table, each with a mug of tea in their hands that either spoke.

"He's my baby," Rita said quietly, looking down into the dark substance in her cup. "I know he's a grow man now... But he's my baby."

Raven didn't say anything; she couldn't even raise her eyes to look at the other woman.

"I remember when we first found him... He was so angry and so sad. He was only 6 and I didn't know a little kid could be so angry. I didn't know how he fit all that rage into his tiny body. He hated everyone... Even me. And he was a brat and a nuisance and he pulled pranks and disobeyed orders and was a general pain in the ass until maybe we all hated him a little bit too... But then one night, after this really rough battle we were all feeling drained and I was going to my room to go to bed... And I passed by Gar's door, like I did every night when he was a kid, to check on him... And I heard this horrible crying. His things were scattered all over and there he was, just curled up in a little ball on his bed shaking. I never did find out what exactly had set him off, but it was like that night he was too tired to hold in all of his feelings and they came out of him in a fit. I sat down on the edge of his bed and he... He crawled into my lap. He didn't say anything, he just climbed on my lap and put his head against my shoulder and cried. That was the first time he ever let me hold him. I just sat there, rubbing his back and petting his hair and... holding him... until he fell asleep. And I stayed there all night, holding him. And that's when I knew he was my baby. From that moment on I knew I would love him forever..."

The Doom Patroller took another long sip from her tea and wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater, "I remember the first time he called me mom. We were on vacation and he'd built this really big sand castle with seashell decorations and a driftwood bridge over the moat... And he took my hand and pulled me away, right during the middle of a conversation with Steve, to drag me over to see it. And he asked 'What do you think, mom?' And it caught me so off guard... But when I looked down at him, he was grinning... But not just grinning... There was that mischievous look too, but still uncertain, like he was testing his boundaries. I was so happy. I didn't know I'd be happy, but I was. And I shrunk down and he turned into a little mouse and we must have played inside that sand castle for hours. For about a year after that he alternated between 'Rita' and 'mom'... but... It was always 'mommy' when he really wanted something."

A small sad smile was on her face now, and she even let out a little laugh, "Things weren't that easy for Steve. Things were always rougher between those two. The first time I ever heard Gar call Steve 'dad' was during this mission we were on to rescue workers from a factory fire. The place was in bad shape when we got there and just got worse as time went on. We had gotten everyone out, but Steve insisted on doing one last check... Just to make sure. We were just about done and I was walking out the door when there was this horrible crack and I heard Gar cry out "dad". A beam had fallen from the ceiling bringing down the flaming floor boards from the second story along with it... landing right on my husband. Before I could stop him, Gar was running back into the fire, instinctively transforming into whatever animals he thought could help... Cliff was the one who ended up saving both of them, after Gar broke his nose trying to move the beam by ramming it as a rhino."

Rita's aura had calmed down a great deal, but it was still far from happy or normal. Raven smiled a little, as much as she could, "Can I get you some more tea?"

The older woman nodded and handed her mug. Raven was only gone for a moment but when she turned back to face the table, Elasti-girl was collapsed with her head resting on her arms on the table, back heaving with silent sobs. Raven gently placed the mugs of fresh tea down on the table and reached out to place a hand on the other hero's shoulder... surprised when that only made the crying get worse.

"Oh, Mrs. Dayton..." Raven sighed, and for a lack of a better idea slid into the breakfast nook before Rita and wrapped her arms around her. Of all the members of the team, this woman had been the one she'd bonded with the least, never really in the same room aside from meal times... And the only occasions where they had been alone together were emotional nightmares for the empath. But here she was, pulling Rita to her shoulder and petting her hair. "Cliff said Steve can fix the machines. They said Gar would be okay..."

She knew her voice wasn't very convincing, but she could feel the older woman nod against her shoulder. Rita's long elegant fingers were tangled in Raven's cloak and Raven tried to be supportive. She imagined that instead of Beast Boy's mother, she was holding Starfire, trying to calm her down after one of her big fights with Robin. She tried to keep her manner natural and friendly. Gradually, Rita calmed down, but Raven kept a hand on her back even when she felt well enough to sit up and drink her tea.

It wasn't long before Negative Man entered the kitchen, and both women jumped to their feet.

"Larry, is he-"

Before Rita could finish her question, her old friend answered, "He's fine." The woman hugged her team mate and Raven couldn't help by notice that she subconsciously used her powers to grow a few inches so she'd be eye level with the lanky man, only to shrink back to her natural size when she released him. Without another word, she raced from the room and the sudden change and then absence of her emotional energy had Raven bracing herself against the kitchen counter for stability.

"Aren't you going to run upstairs too?" Negative Man asked, looking worriedly at the young woman, but she shook her head.

"Need to meditate. So long as he's okay." She spoke in short broken sentences, each punctuated with one of the dishes flying from the cabinet and shattering against the wall. "My room. Sorry."

"Alright, alright, get going before we have to start eating off of napkins," he said, already beginning to pick up broken pieces of china. "I'll take care of the mess."

She teleported to the guest room and immediately slipped into a meditative trance, hovering a few inches above the bed. Her emotions were haywire and she felt drained from trying to keep them in check.

She couldn't get the picture of Rita holding a small green boy to her chest and kissing the top of his head. She remembered the first time she'd ever REALLY met the Doom Patrol, not just fought beside them in battle. Gar had invited them to a ceremony that was being held to award the Titans for their valor after they saved the Mayor from an assassination attempt. Beast Boy specifically was receiving a metal, since he was shot in the arm during the battle. Raven had healed him immediately after the fight and he was fine, but that didn't stop him from deserving a medal, she guessed. He had dragged the whole team outside to the shore as soon as he caught sight of the Doom Patrol's jet. As soon as the plane landed safely in the water, the door flew open and Rita rushed out, becoming giant so she could cross the space between them in just a few strides but then shrinking to a normal size when she was a few paces away with a practiced ease. She was beautiful, and absolutely radiant, and she had captured Gar's face between both of her hands and was peppering it with kisses, leaving behind traces of pink lipstick. And he had been so happy to see her, that the 15 year old wasn't even embarrassed to give her a kiss on the cheek and say he loved her in front of the whole team, though Robin and Cyborg teased him about being a 'momma's boy' later. It was clear that the green teen was glad to see all of the members of his old team, his family, but he stayed glued to Rita the whole visit, showing her absolutely everything in the Tower and talking nonstop. To be honest, he was a little bit of a momma's boy.

Raven wondered if things would have gone differently if she'd met Timmy, Teether, and Melvin when she was a little bit older. She guessed Elasti-girl must have been around 20 when Beast Boy joined the Doom Patrol. That was still too young to have kids, in Raven's opinion, but at least Rita was responsible enough at that point to take care of the child that fate had dropped into her lap. Raven had only been 15 when she met 'her kids' and not nearly mature or emotionally stable enough to care for a brood of orphans. She imagined adopting them, she imagined holding them, she imagined herself as a grown woman and them as teens running to meet her with hugs and kisses, she imagined them calling her mom. But it was useless to think about such things. She still visited them and called them and loved them the best she could, but she wasn't their mother. She couldn't understand the pain Rita was feeling even as she sat on her bed trying to process it.

She didn't know how long it was before she was jogged from her meditation by a knock on the door... But the fact that it was dark outside her window gave her some indication that it must have been hours. The knock on her door was loud and had a strange hollow reverberation… the sound of metal hitting wood.

She made her way to the door slowly, her knees stiff from sitting in lotus position for so long. When she opened the door, she knew exactly who would be there, Robotman.

"Hey, are you feeling up to coming downstairs for a team meeting?" he asked, his deep voice full of concern.

She nodded and started to walk out to the hallway to join him, but one of his large hands pushed her gently back into the room. "Might want to check the mirror first?"

She made her way back to the vanity and saw that he was right in his assumption. She was a mess. She wiped her face with a cleansing cloth and ran a brush through her hair a few times… but still pulled her hood up for good measure. "Thanks," she said, rejoining the metallic hero in the hall.

"No problem," he said, as they trudged through the halls, both obviously tired. "Thank you… for staying with Rita."

"It was… no problem."

Raven had almost forgotten that they'd been in Sweden until Mento began his summary of the investigation so far. Once he brought it up though, the details rushed back to her and she was able to add her input about the interrogations she'd conducted. She was able to listen and analyze when Mento explained the contents of the ransom note. She more than capable to listen to every minute fact from Robotman and Negative Man's investigation of the crime scene. She was functioning despite it all.

It wasn't until Mento mentioned Gar that she completely focused, however. "The malfunction in the infirmary today was not an attack, as I had originally feared. It was a problem with the life support machines," he began, and Raven noted that she wasn't the only one who had perked up and leaned forward in her seat. The room was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop a mile away. "One of the devices failed to recognize Gar's DNA and began to shut down. It's recalibrated now, but this was a problem I hadn't anticipated and… other than monitoring him more closely, I'm not sure if there's any way to ensure something similar won't happen again. Giving Beast Boy any sort of medical treatment has always been… difficult."

Without so much as thinking, Raven began speaking as soon as he paused. "We need Vic."

"What was that?" The man asked.

"Victor Stone, Cyborg," she explained, a blush now creeping onto her cheeks as she realized she'd spoken out of turn. "If anyone knows as much as you about Garfield's mutated DNA, it's Victor. He was in charge of all of the medical procedures at the Titans. And his specialty is with technology. "

The leader nodded, taking off his helmet with a sigh, placing it on the desk and rubbing his temples. "Okay. Raven, call Cyborg and explain the situation to him and have him report here as soon as he can manage. Tomorrow I will stay here and make the necessary alterations to the medical equipment. The rest of you will go back to Sweden, led by Larry and continue where we left off today. That means Raven is on interrogation and you two are on crime scene duty. We'll regroup tomorrow night and take it from there."

"Sure thing."

"You got it."

"Yes, sir."

He didn't bother giving his wife an assignment… because she wasn't there. Raven could only assume she was upstairs in the infirmary. And she could only assume that is where the woman stayed when she didn't come to dinner… and then for the rest of the evening.

* * *

Hope you liked it! Let me know in the comments!


	8. Chapter 8

The next day was pretty standard. Maybe not standard for a normal person, but standard for a super hero. She had called Cyborg the night before and he said he'd make all of the arrangements and be there in the morning. He wasn't there when Raven, Negative Man, and Robotman left for Sweden... But she got a text on her Titans Communicator about two hours later saying he had got there all right. The rest of the investigation was going as smoothly as it could and her interrogations yielded no new evidence. Despite Negative Man's more laid-back attitude, he stayed focused and was nothing short of professional while at the technology mogul's mansion. They were finished with the tasks Mento had assigned fairly early in the day and Raven had teleported them back to the Dayton Manor by 2pm.

When they arrived, Cyborg and Mento greeted them at the door, and Raven found her self embraced in a rib crushing hug.

"Vic," she said warmly when he released her, and planted a small kiss on the human side of his face. A smile gracing her lips as her eyes locked with her friend's, but it didn't last long, "How's Gar?"

"Green," he joked, but then answered in a more serious voice, "Mento and I spent all day fixing everything up to work better with his freaky genes. We really hooked him up."

She nodded, pushing her hair out of her face. "I knew you'd take good care of him."

She walked with the four men into the living room and settled into the couch between Robotman and Cyborg. She was happy to see that Rita was there and looking a little bit better, wearing a pair of jean shorts and a baggy sweater, hair in a bun, mug of tea in her hands. She even smiled a little when the others had entered the room.

Mento ran trough his usually debriefing, summarizing the events of the day and asking the away team about their progress, only to find there hadn't really been any.  
"Alright, team. The meeting time on the ransom note is 3am tomorrow morning and the location was listed as coordinates off the coast of Spain, a small island in international waters. The Hanell family has agreed to participate in a sting operation to allow us to catch Brain, Mallah, and Jinx."  
Raven realized that this was dangerous. The family was rich and probably had more than enough money to just pay off the villains and have their daughter restored. It showed a lot of bravery to risk their daughter's life in favor of helping stop the same thing from happening to another family.  
"Larry, Cliffe, Raven, I need you on my team for this. Cyborg, I'd appreciate it if you'd stay here to finish the modifications on the medical equipment... And to protect Gar in the event of an attack on the Manor."

Mento and Rita exchanged looks and Raven guessed when you were married long enough, you didn't need a mind reading helmet to exchange nonverbal messages. The mood in the room was tense, but hopeful. In less than 24 hours, they'd be facing a chance to save Beast Boy.

After Mento dismissed the meeting, Cyborg and Robotman went to the Manor's garage to talk about compare circuitry. It wasn't every day the two were able to talk to someone else in a similar situation. Mento and Elasti-Girl headed up to the medical wing. Negative Man went to the kitchen to work on dinner. And Raven, of course, went to her room to meditate.

She was shaken out of her meditative state just as the sunset was beginning to turn orange outside of her window by a familiar knock on her door. "Rae, you in there?"

She adjusted her cloak and pulled up her hood, opening the door to reveal Cyborg.

"Dinner's done," he said with a soft smile, placing a strong hand on her shoulder.

As they walked down stairs, Cyborg was rambling about the difference between the hydraulics in his joints and the ones in Cliff's. She knew a little about mechanics, having spent a lot of time hanging out in Vic's garage... But she wasn't so sure she understood the intricacies of what he was saying. She just nodded and smiled.

Dinner was noticeably more pleasant than usual. Even though everyone was stressed about the battle tomorrow, they were relived that Gar was okay after the life support malfunction yesterday. They were also excited to have a guest, apparently, since most of the dinner conversation consisted of Steve, Larry, and Cliff asking Vic all sorts of questions. The topics ranged from the T-car to his favorite recipes. The casual attitude of the mealtime was a major relief to Raven, considering the stress in the Dayton Manor had been a heavy burden on her empathic abilities... Even just having Cyborg's friendly aura in the house was a balm to her worn nerves.

After their meal, Robotman, Cyborg, and Mento decided to head out to the hangar to look at the jet; Victor was interested in seeing the modifications they'd done to it. Raven was left to her nightly habit of doing dishes, with Negative Man leaning against the counter as usual... but to Raven's surprise, Rita stayed in the kitchen as well. The older woman sat in the breakfast nook and flipped through the newspaper.

"So," Larry began and Raven could tell from his tone that she wasn't going to enjoy to conversation that followed, "what exactly is your relationship with this Victor Stone, young lady?"

She could tell he was just playfully teasing, but it was really none of his business. "He's an old friend."

"Old boyfriend?" Negative Man shot back immediately.

"No. He's more like a big brother, if you must know," the girl answered with a sharp glare.

"Don't you give me the evil eye," he responded with a chuckle. "I was just a little shocked this afternoon when I saw little miss ice queen giving someone a smooch on the cheek."

"Like I said: old friend, big brother."

There was silence for a moment, as Raven continued the dishes... But it didn't last long.

"Sooooo... What about that Kid Flash, then?"

Raven was about to use her telekinesis to dump dirty dish water on the bandaged hero, when another voice cut in.

"Leave the girl alone, Larry," Rita said, folding her newspaper and cocking an eyebrow. In a playful tone that Raven hadn't heard the woman use since arriving at the manor, Rita teased, "Don't you think you're a little old for her?"

"Hey, I'm not asking for myself!" He held up his hands in mock defense. "I just happen to have a completely partial and unbiased interest in what Raven's type is. You know, I'm just wondering if it's still short, green, and handsome."

Raven was blushing profusely, and was glad her face was hidden by her hood.

"What? Are you planning to make a trip to the underworld to work out the details on an arranged marriage?" Elasti-girl asked snarkily, and then added, "Lay off."

"Fine, fine," he said with a shrug. "I see how it is, no one around here has any sense of romance."

Even though Rita was annoyed with him, Raven could feel Larry emoting a strong happiness. If she had to guess, this was probably how he and Rita bickered normally, and he was glad to have his friend acting more like herself. It made Raven happy too, to see Rita speaking and spending a little time in a common area instead of locked in her room or hovering over Gar. But not happy enough, that she was able to resist the temptation of splashing Negative Man a little before he retreated to sit with Rita... And not happy enough to forget what he'd said and not consider his words.

She wasn't sure how she felt about Gar. She knew she loved him, as she loved all her friends. She loved Victor, Kori, and Dick. She loved M'gann, Virgil, Jaime, and the other younger Titans. She loved Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. She even probably loved Wally a little when he wasn't being a pain... They were all her friends and she cared about their happiness and safety... But if the same thing that had happened to Gar had happened to Dick, would she have teleported to Gotham and spent two months tracking down his attacker? She couldn't say for sure. She liked to think she'd do all she could to help all of her friends... But one thing she knew for sure is that she wouldn't sit next to Dick's bedside holding his hand even though she knew he wouldn't be able to feel it. Her connection with Gar was definitely deeper... Or at least different.

"I'm going upstairs," Raven said softly, after she finished cleaning up and earned a small wave from Rita and Larry, who were arguing over the spelling of a word in the newspaper's crossword puzzle.

She phased through the floor and up to her room.

He'd always confused her. From the day they'd met, he'd absolutely baffled her. He was sweet, charming, and brave... But at the same time he was annoying, perverted, and lazy. She had been sure that when they were younger she'd hated his guts and couldn't stand the sight of him... But as years went by she grew to love him and even his bad habits seemed endearing. It wasn't logical and when she dissected the factors of their relationship, it made no sense. She had fallen for him... and hard, despite the fact that he was nothing like what she assumed her "type" to be. She was never one to day dream about getting married, but on the rare occasions that she did try to picture her future love interest, he was usually serious and quiet... bookish and maybe a little broody. Someone more like her... but in practice, that wasn't the kind of person she was interested in at all. Robin seemed to be the one of her friends that did fit into this "type" but she had never felt attracted to him... and she had gone on a few dates with this boy Kyle, the goth kid they'd met at the club that time... but he was boring. And then there was Melchior... But even though she had thought she was in love with him, she realized now she was more in love with the idea of him. The only person she could honestly say she was really ever romantically in love with had been Gar. He wasn't her first crush and he wasn't her first kiss... And she knew she wasn't either of those things for him either, but he was her first love. But that was all in the past. They'd dated, broken up, and moved on... Neither of them had really dated anyone since... But they'd moved on emotionally. They could function as friends without letting their residual feelings or attraction interfere. Gar was still flirty at times and a little protective, but that was just his personality... And she still teased him and worried about him, but that was just how she showed her friendship, right?

She sighed and changed into her pajamas. It was still fairly early, but she wanted to be fully rested for the mission tomorrow... And she knew that if she stayed up, she'd only spend more time thinking in circles. Right now her focus wasn't deciding if she had a crush on Gar, it was waking him up.

* * *

Kind of a short chapter, but I needed a little interlude between the events of the last chapter and the big conflict in the next one. Hope you liked it! (And I hope this gets rid of some of the suspicions people have about Negative Man's intentions. He's just a shipper.)


	9. Chapter 9

There was smoke everywhere. She had anticipated a fight, but she hadn't been expecting robot drones. It was just Mento, Negative Man, Robotman, and herself against Mallah and around 50 robots. They seemed similar to the Slade-bots she'd fought as a Titan, but they were all black and chrome, with sleek featureless faces.

She was using her telekinesis to smash one against a rock wall, waiting for it to stop twitching so she'd know it was out of commission when suddenly she felt a rush. It was like being dunked under cold water or being woken up from a deep sleep. Her sixth sense was flooded with a familiar aura, the one she'd spent so log looking for when she first arrived at the manor. She threw the battle-bot away from her and flew toward the spot where the aura was emanating from.

The closer she got, the more she could feel it. Beast Boy's aura was warm and earthy, like a lush garden or a rural road. It wrapped around her mind and she could feel it pulling her forward... There were other auras too... A light, bright one which she assumed belonged to the young heiress and then a darker one which she recognized as Jinx's, but neither of them felt as strong to her as Gar's.

She stopped when she reached a clearing, and she could feel her friend's spirit so strongly that she half expected him to walk out from behind a tree... But instead it was Jinx who appeared.

"Well, well, well... Didn't expect to see you out here, Raven," the dark sorceress spoke with her usual twisted amusement.

Raven was levitating in place, ready to strike at any moment. She wasn't usually one for pre-fight banter, but if this woman had Gar's soul trapped some how, she figured she should tread lightly. "This isn't exactly your turf either. Since when are you working for Brain and Mallah?"

"Consider it... an internship," Jinx replied with a smirk, "With plenty of room for promotion. And you're spending a lot of time with the Doom Patrol... was the big leagues too much for you? ...or did you and Beast Breath finally tie the knot? I guess the Watchtower is no place to raise demon puppies."

That was it, Raven could deal with a lot of nonsense... But there was no way she was going to put up with Jinx making jokes about Gar when she was the one who put him in a coma. Raven lunged forward, pulling a tree from the ground, roots and all, and hurled it at Jinx, hitting her in the stomach.

The other woman recovered quickly, "Now, now, is that anyway to treat an old childhood friend? I thought we had a history."

The ground started to rumble and crack with Jinx's magic, causing a rift to form right beneath where Raven was hovering. This didn't affect her... But the pipeline beneath the ground that ruptured and sent a heavy stream of water shooting in her direction did. The shock of it caused her to loose concentration for a moment and she had to land to regroup.  
Two of the battle-bots had joined Jinx, and as soon as she touched the ground, their robotic hands grabbed at her. One was holding her while the other was punching at her stomach, but she really wasn't in the mood to fight a couple of battery powered bad guys when a real villain was right there. Fueled by her emotions, her powers were growing stronger... And all she had to do was recite her mantra once before the chrome faces of both robots were pulsing with dark energy... And it was only a moment after that that both bots fell to the ground lifeless, having had their inner circuits pulled apart by telekinesis.

Jinx was backing away, but before she could make a run for it, she was wrapped in tendrils of dark power which curled from under Raven's cloak. Her eyes were split into four and glowing red... And when she spoke, he voice echoed, as if it were many voices speaking at once. "What did you do to him?" was all she could manage to say, most of her concentration being used to keep herself from ripping Jinx in two. She didn't like to let herself get this angry... But she couldn't help it. She was furious.

"I... I didn't mean to..." Jinx stammered. Even with her new hair cut and piercings, her wide pink eyes looked childish when they were afraid. "Your boyfriend got in the way!"

"Give him back!"

"It's... Not that easy... I can't just.."

Raven could feel the darkness inside her taking over... when she noticed something around Jinx's neck. It was a stone amulet, glowing an unearthly bluish white... and when she locked eyes on it, she felt like she was looking at Gar. Her eyes snapped back to their regular shape and color... And in that moment of weakness, something hard made contact with the base of her skull.

She fell like a bag of bricks, her powers failing. There was a kick to her ribs and someone stomped on her leg, causing a sickening snap. Her vision was blurry but she could see dark figures swarming around her. She tried to put up a shield but she couldn't concentrate through the pain of the attack... But it didn't last long before the bots backed off, and she could only see one slender shape standing over her.

"I'm sorry, Raven..." It was Jinx, and her voice was far from its usual sarcastic tone. She really did sound remorseful... But before Raven could muster the strength to speak back, she blacked out.

The next thing she knew she was being carried by someone... Her eyes would barely stay open and everything hurt. She panicked against the arms holding her, but that only made the pain worse, sending a shooting ache through her left leg.

'It's alright, Raven. I've got you.' She didn't hear the words... But she felt them. Mento had used his powers to speak them directly into her mind. On a good day, she would have protested him using telepathy on her... But today was not a good day. She didn't know if it was Mento's psychic influence or just the safety of knowing that she wasn't being kidnapped that sent her back to sleep, but she blacked out again.

The next time she opened he eyes, she saw Gar's face... And for a moment she thought she was waking up from a dream and that the two of them were in her old bed at Titans Tower. Any moment he'd wake up and she could tell him about the crazy nightmare she'd had over breakfast... But he was too far away... He was in a different bed... And her leg hurt… her head hurt… everything…

"Rae," it was Victor's voice. He took her face gently between his hands and made her look at him. "Rae, honey, I need you to go into a trance, okay? Can you do that? You're hurt real bad."

It came back to her in bits and pieces, but her head was still hazy. She knew she was in the Dayton Manor's infirmary. "But... Jinx. We have to..."

"It's okay, come on, you have to let your body heal itself," he sounded worried but she tried to shake her face from his hands.

"Garfield..."

"Gar needs you to get better, okay? Stop fighting it, Rae," his cold metal fingers left her cheeks and she heard him talking to someone else as her face rolled back onto the pillow, her gaze landing on Beast Boy once again.

She felt another presence in her mind... And heard a single word "rest" being repeated in a strong, steady voice over and over until it felt like a switch had been flipped, and everything was black again.

When she came to, she felt as if she'd been out for ages... But she also felt immensely better. It was already dark outside the window. She shifted so she was facing her left... And Gar was still in his bed. Their mission had been unsuccessful.

When she turned, she saw someone moving at of the corner of her eye. "You're up," it was Rita. The other woman rushed to her side and placed a hand on her forehead. "You had us worried, sweet heart..."

She settled into the chair between the bed Raven was in and the bed Gar was in, and looked at the girl with a kind but tired smile.

"What happened?" Raven asked, her vocal chords feeling tight and strained.

"They got away."

"I'm... Sorry..." Raven felt terrible. She had Jinx, but let her escape. Raven had allowed herself to be over powered by a bunch of machines. She should have done more.

"It's not your fault..." Rita responded, her eyes filled with concern. "You all did your best today. No one knew there were going to be robots."

Raven could tell that the woman was being genuine, but it didn't make her feel better about the situation. She could sense the mood of the house was one of worry and defeat... And anger coming of of Mento.

"I'm going to go get Cyborg, he made me promise to tell him as soon as you woke up." Elasti-girl gave Raven's arm a reassuring squeeze before leaving the infirmary.

The half demon was beginning to sink into a very bad mood about the events of the day, when she heard heavy footsteps in the hall.  
"Rae!" Cyborg called as he entered the room, snatching the medical chart from the end of the bed. He was followed closely by Rita, Robotman, and Negative Man. The latter two quickly pulled chairs up to the side of her bed and settled in.

"Mornin' princess," Larry teased, his voice sounding slightly guilty even through his playful manner.

Cliff patted her shoulder, "That's our girl. You're tougher than you look." He sounded more like he was reassuring himself of her wellness than complementing her. She must have been hurt pretty bad.

Meanwhile, Cyborg was running his usual regiment of tests. Shining a little light in her eyes, testing her with scanners, even taking a small blood sample. None of this fazed her, since she'd gone through this sort of thing a lot through her career as a professional hero... Until he touched her leg. It looked fine, but it was still sore, a symptom Raven recognized from her healing powers. She could mend flesh and bone... But it usually left residual pain. Even if she was healing someone else it tended to sting a little.

"Point your toe," Victor ordered, holding her leg gently, and examining the length of it with his fingers. "It looks like the bone healed straight... It was broken in two places." Apparently satisfied with his check up, the bionic hero relaxed, and a warm smile appeared on his face. "You're all healed up."

Rita politely excused herself, but the three men remained surrounding her bed. Raven hated being the center of attention, and the three of them sitting this close and staring at her was not exactly something she enjoyed. "Would everyone stop looking at me like that?"

"What? Can't we be glad you're alright?" Negative Man shot back.

"You can be as glad as you want... Somewhere else," the girl deadpanned, causing the three men to laugh despite her intentions.

She had apparently earned another pat on the back from Cliff. And another, "That's our girl."

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate that they cared about her, it was just... overwhelming. And she didn't feel like being loved and fawned over right now, she felt like being miserable. She'd failed her mission and Gar was still in his coma at least partially because of her. She was trying to think of the most polite way to ask to be left alone, when there was a familiar ringtone.

Cyborg immediately flipped open the screen on his arm, but when the LCD displayed nothing, he looked around and grabbed Raven's Titan's communicator from the night stand and passed it to her.

Robotman rose from his chair, followed by Negative Man, "We'll give you some privacy."

"If you need me for anything, just call, okay? And I mean anything," Victor added before following the other two heroes into the hallway.

The half demon flipped open her communicator, revealing the round screen.

"Batman."

"You're awake. I'm glad. I was following the reports Mento has been submitting to the Justice League... They said you were hurt," the Dark Knight's voice was as deep and monotone as ever, but as someone who was usually pretty expressionless herself, Raven was picking up a hint of some emotion that seemed a little out of place on the stern man.

"Healing powers. I'm fine."

"Your healing powers don't make you invincible," the Bat said gravely.

Raven knew that, but she decided not to talk back. Instead, she changed the topic. "Why did you call on my Titans Com and not my Justice League one?"

"I'm not calling as your boss," he paused, considering his words. "I'm calling as... someone who is concerned about your well being."

Raven realized that might be the closest she'd ever get to Batman saying he cared about her. Coming from the Caped Crusader, that statement was practically a verbal hug. If she had been more like Beast Boy, she might make a joke about it... but instead, she just bowed her head slightly, "Thank you, sir."

"You can thank me by staying safe. I know that this fight is very... personal for you. I know what that's like... but I don't want you engaging Jinx unless you have back up. You can't let her separate you from the team."

"Those sound a lot like orders for someone who isn't calling as my boss," Raven snarked, her sarcastic nature dying hard.

"Consider it an authoritative request that comes from a place of professional and personal interest," he said without blinking an eye. Having raised several Robins had turned him into an expert at dealing with smart-mouth remarks. "And it's a request that I expect to have honored."

"Yes, sir."

"Good," he said with a curt nod. "If you need me, you know how to contact me."

Raven was about to say good bye when something struck her, "Wait, I... I actually do need your help. When I was fighting Jinx, I saw something. It was a stone amulet, definitely a magical artifact. I think it has something to do with Gar's condition. I was wondering if someone at the League look into it."

"Of course," he said, already typing notes on his computer about it. "I'll put our second best paranormal researcher to the case... I'd put our first best on the job, but she's run away and joined the Doom Patrol."

Raven raised an eyebrow, "Did you just... make a joke, sir?"

"It's been known to happen from time to time," he said, finishing what he was typing and then looking back up at her. "Get some rest and be careful out there. I'll be checking up on you."

"Thank you."

When he hung up, she placed her com down in the night stand with a sigh. She felt foolish for being so mad at Batman after the last time they spoke... she had painted an image of him in her mind as a tyrannical control freak, but she could see now that a lot of his orders came from a place of concern. If she thought of how Dick had been when he was leader of the Teen Titans, she began to understand Batman's attitude... except he didn't just have a few teenagers under his command, he was one of the heads of the Justice League, not to mention the main defender of Gotham, one of the most crime ridden cities in the country. Not to say that he wasn't a little controlling and quick to anger, but he had a lot on his shoulders. The Titans, even former Titans like herself, were just another thing for him to worry about.

After a while, Cyborg came back and ran a few more tests, telling her she was to stay in the infirmary over night. Rita brought her soup and tea for dinner. Robotman and Negative Man challenged her to a game of Chinese Checkers. But eventually they all left and she was alone with Gar. She couldn't sleep with him just a few feet away. She felt trapped with her failure.

She was lying awake, when she heard someone enter the dimly lit room. She didn't move as she watched Steve walk past her bed toward Gar's. He placed a hand on his son's head for a moment before moving away to check the medical monitors. He then examined the monitors attached to Raven. It felt like forever before he looked at her and saw she wasn't sleeping.

"Did I wake you?" he asked with a level voice. She had seen him yell at Gar when they were younger and she could feel the anger held within his aura.

"No, couldn't sleep," she said quietly, sitting up more in her bed. "Victor wants me to stay here over night... But..."

"I could see why that would make it difficult to rest..." he thought for a moment and then began unhooking the monitor to her bed. "I'll help you to your room. I'm sure Cyborg will understand the importance of sleep to your health."

Once all of the machines were shut down, he helped her get up. Even though she was healed, her leg was still a little sore and she limped slightly. After some rest, she would be back in top condition. She was too tired to levitate.

Mento held his arm out for her to lean on as they walked through the halls. She took it hesitantly. She was waiting for him to lecture her about letting Jinx get the better of her. She was waiting for him to tear her apart for failing when both Gar and the heiress's safety was on the line. She was waiting for him to tell her to leave the manor...

But instead what she heard was, "I'm sorry." She wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly, but it was confirmed when he continued. "I underestimated our opponent and put you in danger. It was never my intention to put you in a position where you could be injured."

She now understood that all the anger she'd been sensing from him was aimed inwardly. He felt responsible for their failure in battle. Raven wanted to say something soothing, but before she could think of anything, the man continued.  
"I was so preoccupied with the Brain that I didn't even know you were in trouble until I found you..." From his tone and the little snippets she'd heard from the others about the condition she was in after the battle, she wondered if maybe he'd thought she wasn't going to make it. "If something had happened... If something worse had happened..."

She cut him off by tightening her grip on his arm. "Sir… I was only in danger because I chose to be. You're not responsible for me."

They reached her door and he helped her into her room and to her bed. "The moment you stepped into my home and began working alongside my team I became responsible for your safety."

"Even so…" she began, her voice low and quiet, "What happened today was my fault and not yours. I'm the reason today was a complete failure…"

"Let's call it a join effort," he said with a short and tense laugh. He sat down on the edge of her bed. "And today wasn't a total loss… I managed to stick a small homing device on one of those god-damned robots. With any luck, it'll lead us straight to their base. Once the signal stops moving, we'll be able to triangulate the signal and plan an attack."

Hearing this struck Raven's memory of her call with Batman. "Oh, that reminds me, I actually have something in the works too…" she pushed herself up a little on her pillows. "When I was fighting with Jinx, I saw something… an artifact. I believe it's what she used to separate Gar from his body."

The man nodded and Raven could see on his face he was already making a plan on how to research the item.

"I hope you don't mind… Batman called earlier and I told him about the amulet. He took down a description and said he'd turn it over to the research department at the League."

"Good. I'm sure they're better equipped than we are… and the more hands on board the better at this point." He was silent for a moment, still thinking about the new developments in the case, but after a while he turned to her. "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

She shook her head, "No, I think I'm okay. Thank you."

He nodded and rose from the end of her bed with a sigh. He moved toward the door, but stopped just before leaving the room. "If you need anything, Rita and I sleep with our communicators on the bedside table…" And then, in a softer tone, "Goodnight, Raven."

"Goodnight," she responded quietly as he shut the door. When he was gone, she changed into pajamas and got under the covers. She had a lot to think about… but before any thoughts could form clearly, she drifted into a deep and dreamless sleep.

* * *

Sorry if this wasn't the resolution that everyone was looking for, haha, but it's coming! Just stick with me.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for this update! I was really busy because I went to Small Press Expo and had to get stuff ready. But I'm back now! Yay! And this chapter is pretty long and has a lot of characters in it, so I hope that makes up for things.

* * *

Raven was woken up by a reverberating knock on her bedroom door. It was a loud but hollow knock, the sound of metal hitting wood. The sound was familiar and could only be one of two people, Victor or Cliff. She pushed herself out of bed, not bothering to grab her cloak before answering the door.

"Mornin, kiddo," came Robotman's familiar voice, but what she saw in the hallway was surprising. "I think I found something of yours?"

The metallic hero was holding Kid Flash by the back of his uniform, but placed him down with a graceless thud before her door.

"Wow, special edition slumber party Raven with authentic bed head!"  
It took the speedster's comment on her attire... and the wolf whistle that followed to snap Raven's still sluggish mind into gear. She quickly slammed her door earning a laugh from Robotman and an offended "Hey!" from Kid Flash.

She threw on her uniform and hastily combed her hair. Even though her leotard was probably more revealing than her sleep shorts and tank top, she felt more vulnerable in casual clothes... especially if people were going to make snarky comments.

When she reopened her door, she saw that Kid Flash was pretty beat up looking. The initial anger she was feeling at him faded and she winced as she looked at his bloody nose and black eye. His cheek and shoulder also looked… singed.

"Wally... What happened to you?"

"I didn't expect Gar's parents' house to have such a good security system..."

Cliff laughed, "Kid was moving so fast that the defensive system thought he was a projectile missile and sent out drones to stop."

"There were also lasers," Wally added, pointing to his burned cheek.

"Lasers?" Robotman sounded excited, "I need to go tell Vic the modifications he did to the security grid are working! If it's okay, I'll release the intruder into your protective custody, Raven."

"I think I have him under control," she said with a sigh and stepped to the side to let him enter her room. He took no time at all to make himself comfortable, plopping himself down on her unmade bed. As if be second nature, she sat next to him and immediately placed her hands on his face to begin healing his wounds. The boy closed his eyes to the cooling tingle of her white magic, which seemed familiar and welcome after the numerous times she'd healed him since they were partnered up at the League.

Once she was done, he placed his hand where her's had just been... Feeling nothing but smooth skin where there had just been a burn.

"Ah, where would I be without you?" he asked warmly.

"I don't know... But you'd probably be covered with some nasty scars wherever you were," she teased. To this he just grinned. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you got your ass kicked," he said casually, his manner as friendly as ever.

"And where exactly did you hear that rumor?"

"Rumor? More like fact," he corrected. "You seem to forget that I'm best friends with Tim Drake... also known as the guy who has been outsmarting Batman since he was like 9 years old. Anything Bats knows, Robin knows... and I asked him to keep me updated."

Raven huffed, "Great. Everyone is keeping tabs on me." She pushed the hair out of her eyes, "So, what? You heard I lost a fight and came all the way here to check on me? We have communicators."

"You're my partner at the Justice League, we're supposed to look out for each other... Like the guys in buddy cop movies."

"Or like actual police officers," she raised an eyebrow.

He nodded, "Yeah, them too... And while I was worried about you, I also came to bring you this." The boy sat up on the bed and began searching the secret compartment on his belt before pulling out a flash drive. "It's the info about that magic necklace thing."

"But... I only asked for it last night," Raven said, taking the small device from her friend.

Wally nodded, "I know... Zatana and I may have pulled an all-nighter."

"Wally..." She didn't say thank you, but it came through in the softness I her voice.

He shook his head, "We want to see Gar get better, too, ya know?" He paused briefly, but it was worth noting since he barely ever stopped talking, and then asked tentatively, "Can I see him?"

Raven led Wally to the infirmary and pushed open the heavy wooden door. The two former Titans stood in silence over the bed of their friend. Raven knew that Gar and Wally never really got along. They were too similar, always trying to get a joke out of everyone. The flaws they didn't want to see in themselves, they saw in each other. Beast Boy would complain that Kid Flash was a show off. Kid Flash would accuse Beast Boy of being defensive. The two of them were polite enough in front of others... but that didn't fool the empath. They didn't hate each other, but they were far from best friends.

"He looks thinner."

"Yeah," Raven hadn't expected her voice to crack but it did.

The speedster reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry..."

She shook her head, "You didn't do anything." He was tactless... But he was trying… and he had spent the entire night researching in an attempt to help. "I'm going to go show these files to Mento. You should come so you can explain them... Partner."

He nodded and Raven did a mental scan of the manor to find the team's leader. Unsurprisingly, he was in his office. The two Titans walked through the ornate halls, Wally taking in all of the art and artifacts scattered throughout, while Raven seemed to already be used to them. When they approached the office door, Raven raised her hand, but before her knuckles touched wood, a voice spoke from within.

"Come in, Raven," Mento said clearly.

She turned the knob and pushed the door open to find Mento sitting in his leather chair before his computer… helmet on. She didn't know much about Mento's powers, but she knew from what Gar told her that while his helmet gave him extraordinary mental abilities… it wasn't good for him and he wasn't supposed to wear it a lot.

He turned around to face them and stood, extending a hand toward Kid Flash. "I'm Mento, but if you're a friend of Raven's and Gar's, you can call me Steve."

"I'm Kid Flash, but if you're Beast Boy's dad you can call me Wally," the younger hero said in an attempt at a joke, shaking Mento's hand. Raven could only roll her eyes.

She waited until they were done and then extended the flash drive in Mento's direction. "Kid Flash brought this from the League, Sir. It's information about Jinx's amulet."

"Hmmm, Let's take a look," he said taking the device from her and plugging it into his computer. The three of them went over the articles and text files, Mento asking a lot of questions, Wally answering them the best he could, and Raven just trying to process it all.

It turned out that the amulet was Greek in origin but there wasn't much written about it. All that they could gather from the articles and papers Wally and Zatanna had gathered was that the artifact was called the 'amuletum somortem' and that it had been housed at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology before it recently went missing.

"Hmmm, why don't you two go and speak to the people at the museum," Mento suggested, still pouring over the files on his computer.

"You want me to go with Kid Flash?" Raven asked credulously. She knew the man as sort of a control freak, liking to do everything himself or at least closely supervise the missions and tasks that he couldn't head.

The man took off his helmet with a sigh, placing it down on his desk. Even though he put it down gently, it sounded heavy as it hit the oak. "I want to stay here and try to get a satellite image of their base. I've located it on GPS, but I want to find out as much about the location as possible... If you want, I can send Larry with you, but I don't think you need a baby sitter. I trust you, Raven."

She could sense that the man was tense, but she was touched by how casually he made that statement. "We'll be fine sir."

"Go eat something before you leave," Mento said absentmindedly before turning back to his computer, his fatherly instincts showing. "And keep in contact. If anything seems off, get out of there."

Raven nodded, "Yes, sir."

As soon as they were out of earshot, Wally elbowed Raven lightly, "He's bossy, huh?"

"He's not so bad, just stressed," she shrugged. "That's just how team leaders are."

"I guess you're right..." He admitted, seeming like he was going to say something else about it... Until a sudden sweet smell reached their noses. "What's that?"

"Breakfast," she said plainly and led him into the kitchen where Larry was at the stove, hard at work flipping pancakes and frying bacon.

"Morning."

"Good morning, sunshine," he said without looking, "Are you hungry?"

"Only a little, but I was given a direct ordered to eat breakfast," she said sarcastically eliciting a laugh from both Larry and Wally.

Negative Man plopped two heaping plates of pancakes down on the table rather unceremoniously. "I made extra because I heard our house guest had a house guest," he joked, holding out his hand, "I'm Larry."  
Kid Flash shook his hand enthusiastically, "Cool. Name's Wally... And these pancakes smell delicious."

The two former Titans settled into the breakfast nook, soon joined by Robotman and Cyborg. Everyone chatted about how the defensive systems had nearly fried the ginger that morning... though Raven was distracted and had little to say about the situation. She only ate one pancake and one strip of bacon before pushing the remainder off of her plate and on to the Speeder's, knowing that his high metabolism called for a lot of carbs. He accepted the extra food with a smile.

"So, what are your plans for the day?" Cyborg asked Raven when there was a lull in conversation.

She took a sip of her tea and replied, "Mento has me on an away mission."

"Has US on an away mission," Wally corrected, his mouth full.

Negative man scoffed turning to Kid Flash, "You've been here all of a few hours and Steve is already sending you on away missions?"

"It's just recon," the half demon informed, "We're going to the Archeology Museum at UPenn to investigate Jinx's pendant. Steve said you could come if you wanted to, Larry. "

The older hero shook his head, "I think I'll pass on this field trip. I promised to help Rita with some housework."

The group finished up breakfast and parted ways. Raven offered to teleport herself and Wally to the museum, but he insisted on running and meeting her there, claiming that her powers gave him "a strong case of the wiggins" and saying he wanted to stretch his legs anyway.

When they arrived, the two wasted no time, finding the museum director who introduced them to one of the lead researchers. Her name was Lisa and she was slightly older woman with burnt sienna colored skin, dark hair, and glasses. She began leading them through the different exhibit rooms, each featuring artifacts and replica's from different cultures until they reached a large section devoted to ancient Greece. She stopped them before a display case and pointed to an empty spot.

"This is where the amulet had been displayed… As you can see there isn't much security on this exhibit since it's mostly just trinkets and jewelry. I was shocked when I came into work one morning and found the necklace missing…"

Raven looked over the other items in the case, and sure enough they all looked fairly average… extremely old, but average. She turned her attention back to the researcher. "Can you tell us anything about the amulet?"

"Well, it's called the 'amuletum somortem' and the legend around it is that it was formed by Hypnos the god of sleep in as a sleeping aid for a restless Hera… but it was corrupted by Hypnos's twin Thánatos, the god of death. When the goddess used it, it sent her into a deep and deathlike slumber… there's also a story of it falling into the hands of a mortal priestess who used it to end a war between two warring cities by putting all of the soldiers to sleep long enough to destroy all of their weapons."

"How did they wake the people up?" Wally asked quickly.

"Well, in the first myth, Aurora goddess of the dawn takes the amulet from Thánantos and uses it to reverse the effects. In the second myth the priestess herself reverses the amulet's powers. If handled by a person with a pure heart and magic abilities, the same amulet that causes sleep can reawaken its victims." Lisa paused, her eyebrows furrowing, "But… those are just myths… legends. They're not real. That amulet has been here since before I started working here and there's never been any reports of incident up until it was stolen."

"Stranger things have happened," Wally shrugged.

The researcher's face was incredulous, obviously a woman of science and not willing to believe that the amulet she'd been walking past every day for years was actually a relic of the gods. "So you're telling me that those legends are real? And that someone stole the amulet to USE it?"

"You're talking to someone who can run faster than a bullet train and a girl who's father is a giant demon, I'm pretty sure we know a few gods-" the speedster was talking quickly and managed to reveal that much before Raven could cover his mouth with a tendril of her dark energy.

"The location of the amulet is classified information," Raven said politely, pushing her partner aside. "But rest assured that once we recover it, we will update you on the situation and return the object to you if that action is deemed safe by the Justice League."

The woman seemed confused, but nodded, "Alright. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Not right now, but if we have any more questions, we'll let you know," the dark girl said with a smile, "Thank you for your time."

Raven nearly dragged Wally outside before releasing him from her powers, shooting a glare in his direction. "Let's get back to the Manor."

"Race ya!" was her friend's response, before he disappeared in a blur of yellow and red.

She teleported herself back to the front entrance of the Dayton Manor, and for a moment thought she'd actually beaten Wally there, considering he wasn't leaning against a wall, prepared to gloat like he usually was when he won a race… but then she noticed the front door was open and just as she began to sense many aura's inside the house, she was scooped up into a powerful hug.

"RAVEN! My best of friends!" Even through Raven couldn't see anything but a mass of wavy red hair, she knew exactly who had her in a death grip. "I came to your aid as soon as I could!"

"Star," the young woman responded, wrapping her arms around the other the best she could manage. While she hadn't been expecting her friend, she couldn't say that she was really surprised to see her.

Soon she was replaced on her feet, only to feel herself being pulled into another hug, this time a less intense one, but still firm and caring. It was Dick, Nightwing.

When she pulled away from his shoulder, she felt a small smile split her lips. Before her stood Starfire, Nightwing, Cyborg, and Kid Flash... three of her original teammates and her partner from the Justice League. The fact that they'd all come to help Beast Boy made her feel warm inside and glad that she'd found the strength to actually open up and make friends. She wanted to tell them how much they meant to her, but all she could muster was a shaky, "Thank you."

"Titans together, right?" Dick said with a smile, he had lightened up a little since he was their leader.

"You must not thank us!" Starfire chimed in, flying to Raven's side and linking arms with her as the group began to head inside. "Of course we would come to the assistance of friend Garfield! Not to mention, I would never miss your wedding day!"

Raven stopped walking and she could feel a blush rising in her cheeks. "W…wedding?"

"Yes, a joyous occasion birthed from a time of trial!" Starfire said, looking a little confused but unwaveringly happy. "It is an Earth custom! You shall awaken Garfield from his enchanted sleep and share in true love's kiss. Then you shall be wed and blessed with happiness ever after!"

In a burst of dark energy, all of the paintings in the hallway became askew and an end table uprooted itself and flipped entirely upside down.

"It is all explained legends of Sleeping Beauty and of Snow White," Star insisted.

At this point, Cyborg and Kid Flash were laughing too hard to speak, but Dick managed to regain composer long enough to explain the situation to his ex girlfriend. "Kori… those are fairytales they tell to children… they're not real."

"So… there will be no wedding?"

"No, I don't think so," Dick said with a nervous laugh, turning to look at Raven. She now had her emotions under control, but still didn't look too happy.

Star nodded, her voice serious, "Perhaps that is for the best… there is no need to rush into a wedding. It is better to have more time to plan for location, refreshments, ceremonial garments, and of course the trip to the moon of honey."

Raven couldn't stay mad at her friend, "Kori, if I ever get married, I promise you can be my maid of honor, but for now can you just drop it?"

"Of course, we must focus on the task at hand," the alien agreed with a kind smile.

The Titans and the Doom Patrol all gathered together in the living room to go over the findings from the day. First, Raven and Wally told everyone about the amulet's origins and mythology. Though they didn't know much more about the exact powers the object maintained, everyone agreed that their best shot at undoing the damage was to retrieve the necklace. Next, Mento had a slide show prepared. He had located the base and got a satellite image of the area. It appeared that the base was surrounded by high walls and armed to the teeth. There were what appeared to be lasers and armed robot guards. It seemed secure… but they had more heroes now.

After the meeting, Rita and Larry cooked dinner and they were forced to eat in the grand dining room since there was no room at the breakfast nook in the kitchen. Raven had disliked that room when she'd first arrived at the manor because it had seemed so stately and empty when it was only herself and the Doom Patrol, but now it seemed friendlier when it was full of friends and chatter. She spent dinner catching up with Kori, who was full of questions about the League and stories about her home planet. She had forgotten how comforting Starfire's innocent and warm aura could be.

Everyone was preparing to clean up and go to bed, when there was a sudden buzzer sound from the front hall.

"The doorbell?" Cliff said, walking to a monitor and pressing the display button. Six faces appeared on the screen, along with identification that must have come from a security system scan referenced against the Doom Patrol's computer database… but Raven didn't need the computer to tell her who those people were.

"It's the Titans," she said, rising from her chair.

Larry shook his head, "Exactly how many Titans are there?"

"Depends on whether you mean official or honorary," Vic joked.

"Those are the Titans who took over the Tower after we… graduated," Dick explained.

Rita got up from her chair, "Well, let's let them in!" She began walking toward the manor's entrance and Raven followed closely behind. She could hear the squeaking of chairs across wood floors as the others got up to join them as well.

When Rita opened the door, it was Tim who stood in front of the group, shaking the Doom Patroller's hand and introducing himself as "Robin." Half way through his introduction, he noticed Raven over Elasti-Girl's shoulder and a smirk reached his lips.

"Raven," he said, his voice warm. In the time she had spent with the younger Titans, she had become a sort of advisor to Tim, building a trusting and understanding friendship with him similar to the one she had with the older Robin. They shared a quick and professional hug.

Before she could ask him any questions, she was sandwiched between three teen boys in a group hug.

"Raven! We missed you!" Blue Beetle began.

"Yeah! Now that you're gone, the Tower is a mess and there's no one around to keep Red and Blue in line!" Static Shock added, earning a laugh from the other Titans.

Red Devil didn't speak until the hug was broken, and his voice was a little quieter than that of his cohorts, "Yeah, it's different without you."

She was touched by the boy's comments, especially Eddie's because she knew the two of them had a rough start when he first joined the team. She opened her mouth to speak, but once again was cut off by a hug.

"Oh Raven!" she found herself scooped up in a pair of thin green arms. "I like missed you SO much! You don't even know! And I can't believe you're getting married and you didn't even tell me!?"

She could hear a burst of deep laughter in the background, definitely Cyborg.

"You talked to Starfire, didn't you?" Raven asked and she could feel the girl nod in affirmation against her shoulder. "There's no wedding, Star's just been watching too many princess movies… But I missed you, too."

The last Titan to greet was Ravager, who simply shook Raven's hand. The scene soon degraded into a mess of hugs, handshakes and introductions as everyone merged in the entrance way. This continued until Rita spoke up, "You kids came in all the way from Jump City? You must be starving."

If there's one thing that's every Titan's weakness, it's food, and the younger Titans were quick to follow the woman to the dinning room and helped themselves to whatever food was left from the dinner that had just ended.

Even though everyone else had finished eating, they sat with the Teen Titans and talked. Raven herself was sitting with Dick and Tim, toward the end of the table where things were a little quieter. She knew the 'bat brothers' could probably answer any questions she had about how the Doom Patrol base had managed to become an unofficial Titans Tower.

"I called home and you Alfred told me you were headed here," Tim explained, taking a gulp of water. "I knew about Gar's situation and that Raven, Cyborg, and Wally were already here, so I figured if you were here too things were probably getting serious. So, I rallied the team and we came to see if we could help out."

Dick nodded, "I called to check in with Victor and he said that they were close to making a break through… so, I came as soon as I could."

That only left one loose end in Raven's mind, "And Kori was… with you?"

A red tinge crossed Nightwing's nose and cheeks, "No, but we've… been in touch. I probably would have been here last night, but I waited for her so we could travel together."

The trio talked for a while longer, Raven mainly listening as Nightwing and Robin discussed a case Batman was working on.

It wasn't long before Mento's voice rang out through the room, "Thank you all for coming to help, if my research is any indications we're going to need all the help we can get. Now that we have reinforcements, I think it would be wise to strike tomorrow, before our enemies have a chance to make their next move. We'll leave tomorrow morning after a brief strategically meeting. There are guest rooms in the east hall, second story… and feel free to help yourself to anything you might need."

"You heard the man, troops," Dick said, standing from his chair. "Time for bed, big day tomorrow."

"You're not the boss of us, anymore," Blue Beetle joked.

"Maybe not," Nightwing retorted, ruffling Tim's hair, "But I am the boss of him and he is the boss of you. Transitive authority."

The younger Titans seemed okay with this, and started heading toward the guest rooms, Cliff volunteering to lead them up stairs and show them where extra blankets and towels were. Raven was feeling tired herself, she was never good with reunions, but this one was particularly large and emotional and had drained a lot of her energy. She said a small good night to the room and began to leave, Starfire joining her, linking arms in a friendly manner again.

"It was good to see so much of our family in one place again," she began with a sleepy smile, apparently tired from the space travel she underwent to return to Earth. "When we awaken Friend Garfield, our family will be even more complete."

Raven nodded, "Yeah, I'm glad you're all here…"

Star sighed, "My heart feels full to bursting."

While the Tameranian sometime butchered common phrases and tripped over English words… she always managed to express exactly what those around her were thinking with a pure honesty.

"M…mine too," Raven agreed as they reached her bedroom door.

The taller woman cupped her cheek and pulled Raven's face to her's, planting a sweet kiss on her cheek. "Do not worry, my friend. We are together and we fight righteously. We will win."

There was such a confidence in her friend's tone that Raven could only nod. Even after her friend had left, Raven took comfort in those words. She let them cover her like the thick blankets of the guest room, which had slowly become her room. She let them wrap around her like the arms of so many friends she hadn't seen in months. She slipped into them like an old habit.

And as she drifted off to sleep she scanned the manor, sensing the auras of the others. Some were already asleep, but others were still awake and talking… they were worried and tense, but hopeful. And it made her hopeful. She heard the words repeat in her head, "We will win."


End file.
